At 10:04 AM 5/20/03 -0400, you wrote:
>And why, then, did the bees wait a few
>minutes to come out of the nuc box, after acting so
>much like the queen was inside?"

It happens sometimes.  Last year I though I hived a swarm successfully only
to return the next day to find the swarm had moved out of the hive and was
hanging off the back of the outer cover.   Nothing would have lead me to
belive the day before that anything was amiss, and they even emptied the
feeder in the hive, but apparently I missed the queen.  I though then it
would be  a simple matter of lifting the lid, shaking the bees into the
hive and replacing the lid.  However, they had other ideas.  On the first
shake they all took off and headed off across the adjacent field, never to
be seen again.

Just 2 days ago I hived a swarm on the same branch of the same tree in
exactly the same way as the above swarm.  This time they stayed.

Anyone else ever notice that swarms seem to take up the same perches year
after year?

-Tim

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::