> According to Roger Morse, bees will scout a new location days before
> swarming.  In fact, Roger claims, scouts will even go so far as to
> "stake a claim" to their potentially new site by camping out, even
> overnight(!) at the new abode.

This is true, and this is why bees will often ignore bait hives that are
placed too late to get seriously considered.  Bait hives work best when they
have been left on a site for several weeks.  They work evn better if the
bees have robbed a bit of honey out of them at some point in the weeks
leading up to swarming.

allen