# Where is the queen in a hanging swarm?



## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

My own theory is she is mostly near the top. I base that from the number of times in hard to get swarms that the queen has not been collected when I missed the bees at the top.

Also be aware the queen can fly, this can be both helpful or unhelpful. It is helpful in that if you get most of the bees but not the queen into the box, long as the bees like the box they will have the queen fly over later.

After dumping the bees in the box the normal thing is for lots of them to re settle on the branch. Simplest way is to smoke them off, just make sure the wind is taking the smoke away from the box so it does not interfere with bees going there. I normally put the box upwind of the swarm in a position where the smell of the bees nasanov pheromones will drift from the box, to the original swarm site, to draw bees from there to the box. It also means smoke can be used on the branch and will blow away from the box, bees made to fly by the smoke will quickly pick up the nasanov pheromones and move to the box.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Have caught many swarms, have not seen the queen while they were clustered. I don't spend more that a few seconds looking. 

At least 90% of the time she's in the cardboard box with the bees after a few shakes and stays there while I hold the box half opened collecting the last of the flyers. If the flyers are flying into the box it might be an indicator that she's in there. If they are flying back to the branch she might be there.


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## BernhardHeuvel (Mar 13, 2013)

I don't know where the queen is in the cluster. But: after shaking down a swarm, you almost always find her running on top of the other bees. I call it "swimming on the bees". Shake down the swarm, there she is. 





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SXGtrkOd_g


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

You can reach into a cluster and feel a tight area (like a knot) and pull her out. The few times I've done this, she was not on the branch but in the cluster.


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## IAmTheWaterbug (Jun 4, 2014)

BernhardHeuvel said:


> I don't know where the queen is in the cluster. But: after shaking down a swarm, you almost always find her running on top of the other bees. I call it "swimming on the bees". Shake down the swarm, there she is.


Wow!!!! You made that look way too easy. Did you train her to do that?


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## IAmTheWaterbug (Jun 4, 2014)

deknow said:


> You can reach into a cluster and feel a tight area (like a knot) and pull her out. The few times I've done this, she was not on the branch but in the cluster.


I'm still too newbee to do this without gloves! I wore a full suit for my first capture. Can you feel the knot if you're wearing gloves?


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

The swarms that I took the time to watch for the queen, the queen was walking around and through the bees hanging from the limb. The ones I observed, the bees were clinging in loosely draping "strings" or "long clusters". Other bees were going through and between the clusters or strings. I would see the queen briefly on top then she would go back into the swarm and appear again a few seconds later, in a slightly different spot. I would take a queen catcher and gently try to catch her and put her in the hive so the bees would stay when I shook the swarm. That's also how I found there can be more than one queen in the swarm. I had caught one queen and put her in the hive and was going to shake the swarm when I saw a second queen. Checking the first queen catcher, she was still in it. I used a second queen catcher to get the second queen then shook the swarm instead of looking for more queens. 

Had the scenario repeat itself a couple of times with different swarms. Could just be something local or certain time of the year (may and June here).


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

Keith Councill in Florida showed me another techniqe. He presses a frame with plastic foundation against the cluster for a few seconds...then removes it...looks for the queen 'swimming' (as Bernhard put it)..if not, shake into box and repeat.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Most often, the first good shake will drop 90%+ bees in the bucket/hive. In that cluster will bee the queen. Note: There may be more than one queen in a good sized swarm. I had 4 queens in one before and saw up to seven in Jeff's jpthebeeman vids on youtube. They will re group on the original branch. A spritz of bee quick on the branch will stop that from ocurring again.
IF POSSIBLE, hive then directly into the hive. This will help ensure that the queen will stay and is a lot less stressful on the bees.
Send us pics of the new queen in a few weeks.

I have done the drawn frame trick more than a few times when I couldn't shake or vacuum. It's like a bee magnet! lol


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

Most often the queen is wherever she wants to be.

cchoganjr


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