# Swarm returned to hive 20 minutes after swarming



## Stephenpbird (May 22, 2011)

The queen did not join the swarm, which then returned to the hive.


----------



## dulley (Apr 20, 2009)

Stephenpbird said:


> The queen did not join the swarm, which then returned to the hive.


Will they try to swarm again before a new queen emerges? If not, will the new virgin queens kill the old queen when they emerge? This hive is a split I made last spring, so the existing queen in only one year old.


----------



## Stephenpbird (May 22, 2011)

They will try, if they are unable to swarm with the old queen then they will swarm with a virgin when the time is right.


----------



## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

dulley said:


> What does it mean?


It means someone is behind on their management It will most likely swarm again and not come back, so I would be proactive and get in the colony to help make some decisions for them, and even then depending on what you decided to do and how, they still may swarm Especially since they are already in that mood.


----------



## dulley (Apr 20, 2009)

fieldsofnaturalhoney said:


> It means someone is behind on their management It will most likely swarm again and not come back, so I would be proactive and get in the colony to help make some decisions for them, and even then depending on what you decided to do and how, they still may swarm Especially since they are already in that mood.


That is good if they swarm again soon so there is not a queen issue. That is my goal is to create more feral beehives. I very seldom take any honey from my hives. I really do not like it that much.


----------



## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

dulley said:


> That is good if they swarm again soon so there is not a queen issue. That is my goal is to create more feral beehives.


That is good,, if you don't have neighbors or occupied structures around, but as a person who removes "feral beehives" in occupied structures, I assure you they wouldn't think your goal is good


----------



## sfarw (May 3, 2017)

I just had a similar situation - swarm left hive, clustered on tree for 20 minutes, and then went back into the hive... except we then found about a dozen bees and a queen balled up in the grass halfway between the tree and the hive... so the queen tried to leave with them.

What would be the reason for them to return if they queen did in fact leave the hive with them?

Is it normal to find the queen crawling back to a hive when a swarm returns?


----------

