# Advice regarding dealing with a sawrm.



## Ledge (Dec 15, 2010)

Greetings all, i'm hoping that someone can affirm my instincts here. I just watched one of my hives throw a swarm. It landed in a maple tree about 15 feet from the originating hive. I laid down a tarp, and tried to capture the swarm. The cluster ended up on the tarp, and then went airborne again. I think the queen may have gone back to the originating hive, because the swarm immediately clustered on the old box, and reentered it. My gut tells me to open the hive up, and try to locate her, and do a split with her in a new box. Depending on the number of additional queen cells that i find, maybe build a couple nucs as well. Is this sound thinking? Thanks in advance for any advice.
Derek


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## tommyt (Aug 7, 2010)

I think you are thinking in the correct direction
In others words I would do as you are thinking


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## Ledge (Dec 15, 2010)

Heh, so much for that theory. They just went to a nearby birch tree. Thanks for the feedback though.


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## jpelley (Jun 9, 2012)

I'm new, but sounds a lot easier then getting them out of the tree. Of course transfer her with a frame of brood,honey and bees.


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## Ledge (Dec 15, 2010)

So, the drama continued throughout the majority of the day. I shook them in to two eight frame medium boxes with some drawn out frames in them. A whole pile of bees started marching in. I went back about a hour later to see how things were going, and the box was empty, and the swarm was right back up on the same branch. I then added a queen excluder between the two boxes, and took the frames back out of the top box, and shook them again. I could only get 3 frames in the top box without squishing bees, and i didn't want to delay getting the lid on any more than i had to, as i couldn't find the queen. As i check on them now, they are still in the hive, but minus a few frames. How long should i wait before opening it back up to put the remaining frames in, and get the excluder out?


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## DamSutt1986 (May 26, 2012)

I check my new cut out hives every day. I know it's invasive, but the one hive that I gave 2 days to settle in absconded (I never did find those ones). Once they start building comb and laying I give them more time between visits. 

Also, anytime I put bees in a hive after a swarm or if they're new from a cutout, I staple screen over the hive entrance for 24 hours. I hived 1 cutout and they tried to abscond 3-4 days later. After I collected them, I screened them in for another 24 hours and put the hive in a new location with better sunlight. After 24 hours I opened the screen but left the entrance reduced. It sort of feels like a 'timeout' to screen them in, make them deal with the situation they are in vs. just abandoning at first chance.

Once again, I'm new at this, but I've dealt with 4 cutouts and swarms already.


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## Ledge (Dec 15, 2010)

Thanks for the feedback. I ended up taking the excluder out after 2 days, and putting the remaining frames in. Today, i opened the box up to take a peek. I found eggs, so i'm a happy camper!


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