A hobbyist with one hive(at least it used to be one hive. Now, I either have
three potential hives or none), yesterday my bees swarmed.
 
I obviously underestimated my population as the major swarm is now hanging
40 feet up in one of my backyard cedars while I seem to have two more hives
full of bees.
 
When I noticed the swarm(s)...one was clustered on the southwest outside of
the hive body(2 deeps, 3 shallow) and the other(the BIG one)in the
aforementioned inacessible cedar. I rummaged around in the basement until I
came up with ten deep sheets of foundation and assembled enough to get
another BC.
 
I went through the hive, inspecting almost all 20 of those deep brood combs
and could spot no brood(mind you, I was some distracted by the swirling
activity around me) but I did spot a couple of unopened queen cells(almost
all other cells seemed to be empyty---just a few scattered pollen and honey
cells around the outside perimeter and what appeared to be some uncapped
fresh nectar) and I tranferred those combs to another BC which I placed
elsewhere in the yard.
 
Those of you who responded will remember my story a couple of weeks ago
where a friend came over and removed 4 frames of honey from a shallow super
I'd foolishly placed below the queen excluder and how I'd panicked at the
exposing of brood in such cold weather and closed it back up.
 
As expected, the bees had almost filled the empty space with big sheets of
drawn comb. This shallow super was heavy so I knew it contained honey and it
seemed also to contain a lot of the most calm bees of the batch. I placed it
on a new bottom board,(after I'd removed the comb they'd built and inserted
4 frames with fresh foundation) placed a deep BC over it(the one with at
least 2 unopened Queen cells, placed 2 shallow supers on top of that and put
the whole thing on my roof.
 
By the time I'd done all this rearranging my smoker had run out of fuel and
the bees were becoming increasingly aggressive(managing to score on me many
times through my clothing).  My original hive, in the original location ,
now has one less shallow super(2 deeps, excluder, and then 2 shallow). With
every hive body except that very heavy one, I've alternated fresh foundation
with old frames(old on outside edge, then fresh comb, then old, bee
populated comb, then fresh etc. etc.).
 
My concern is that my only functioning Queen in in the centre of that
inacessible swarm and that the other two hives don't have the material
resources(honey/brood) to renew themselves.
 
Not knowing what a swarm box looks like I took a couple of large cardboard
boxes and, after making an entrance hole, set one flush on top of the old
hive and one on top of the rabbit hutch next to it(i also placed a comb of
honey in each, hoping to attract the swarm).
 
That was all yesterday and today, that big swarm is still in the cedar.
Since the vast majority of the honey stores seem to be gone from my hives,
is it likely the final few thousand bees from each will join the swarm and
they'll all live out the balance of the season hanging in their sheltered
living alcove high in that tree where I cannot get at them?
 
The possibility that the swarm is NOT my bees, exists(but seems unlikely to
me as how else do we account for the missing stores).
 
Another interesting point to me is the shape of the swarm. It looks just
like a Queen cell(is that to attract a fertilized queen as she is programmed
to seek out and destroy other queens by entering their cells?). The comb the
bees used to fill the empty space caused by removing those 4 frames from the
shallow super also appears to be in the shape of a Queen cell(I'm wondering
about the pattern--a fat icicle--)
 
Any advice or comments welcome.
 
...Stuart
Point Roberts, Wa.
PS
As soon as I can get ahold of some more shallow supers and one more deep BC,
I'll install them.
 
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     Though argument does not create conviction, lack of it destroys
     belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no
     one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational
     argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in
     which belief may flourish. (Austin Farrer on C. S. Lewis.)
 
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