Any other suggestions?
A swarm is a swarm until the queen sets up house keeping.
Until you get the queen or queens in the swarm box they are liable to leave.
Many times you can hive a swarm only to come back the next day to find they
are gone. The old timers would say to rub the branches of a peach tree on
the inside of a hive you plan to put a swarm in. I use a small piece of old
queen excluder across the entrance for a couple days until the queen sets up
house keeping.
Beekeeping story:
I picked up a swarm once and tossed the swarm container in the back of my
pickup truck and stopped at a Wal-Mart for a few minutes. When I came out I
noticed a commotion. I asked what the problem was. A fellow told me there
was a swarm of bees on a shopping cart. Hmmm.
Sure enough my swarm had escaped through a small hole about the size of a
bee and was on the shopping cart.
One of the people noticed the beekeeping sign on the truck and asked if I
could help. Sure I said and put the swarm back in the swarm box (with a
piece of duck tape over the escape hole).
Everybody was grateful for me catching the swarm and said it was lucky I
happened along.
Bob
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