Hi folks!
 
Question.  I had a large 12lb swarm I captured about 5 weeks ago.  i put them
into a deep Brood Chamber (BC) and fed them a gallon of 1:1.   I put in 2
apistam strips and mdicated them with a dusting of TM-25.  They drew of the 10
frames of permadent foundation in about one week.
 
I them put a medium honey super on so they could have stores for the winter.
I again medicated with TM-25 and they drew out and filled but did not cap
about 7 frames in about 2 weeks.
 
I then put on another BC under the queen excluder and homey super.  I checked
a week later and the queen had gone into the new BC and started laying eggs.
I also saw uncapped larva on about 3 frames.  I medicated again.  All looked
great.  They were very stingy bees and probably should have been requeened but
she was laying wall to wall eggs!  I put up with the bad temperment.  One week
later they swarmed and I found about 8 gallons of bees in a ball 50' up in an
oak tree over the apiary.
 
Question.  Why did they swarm?  They had plenty of room and the queen had gone
up into the new BC and began laying eggs.  I am new at this so I read alot of
books.  The books indicate I was doing thing correctly and this should not
have happened.  It is becomming clear to me that the bees don't read the
books.
 
The only things I can think of is that I over medicated them( I followed
directions) or I went into the hive too often (once a week to 10 days).
 
Does anyone have any ideas?  I put out 4 bait hives with nasanoff pheremone
microviles on them with no luck.  Three days later they left never to bee seen
again.  I would have tried to recapture them but 50' was too high up.
 
Any ideas and suggustions on what to do differently in the future are
welcomed.  Was it a mistake putting on an additional BC or shuld I have just
put on more honey supers?  I really did not think they were crowded.
 
Mason Harris
Burlingame, CA
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