"Let's have more case histories" Last year, I set up my first hive with a brand new 3lb package and marked queen. It was installed on the 17th of April on foundation. On one of the first warm days in June, after filling up two deep brood chambers, they swarmed, leaving two deep brood chambers and two completely empty medium supers of foundation. (The undrawn foundation, incidently, was plasticell, but I am not giving up on it yet because I paid good money for it damn it.) Since I didn't have any extra equipment and no money to buy more, I captured the swarm in a cardboard box and gave them to a friend who was very grateful. I didn't know about recombining at the time. That was a championship queen and a bunch of healthy field bees that he kept through the winter. My remaining colony built back up and is still with me, hopefully recovering from a heavy mite infestation. I don't see how you can make broad generalizations about swarms. They could be just about anything. Especially around here where there are little apiaries all over the place. It does seem wise to keep an eye on them for a while, though. Steve Noble :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::