WOW...

[Rod Weakley]

I'm not real sure what I saw in my back yard today, but it was exciting and scary all at the same time. I went out in my back yard 1:30pm and wasn't paying attention to the hive because I was back there to take care of the dogs. As I walked toward the hive (to walk past it) I heard a loud buzzing and started paying attention. There were thousands of bees in the air, and hundreds more joining them every second. They circled in my yard and then the neighbors yard and then the next yard down. I don't know if they were swarming for some unknown reason, or if this was just a huge batch of orientation flights. I suppose when I go home and have an empty hive I'll know.

[newbee 101]

Sounds like a swarm to me, though I have never seen a swarm in the air, only on a fence. Orientation flights would be around your hive.
Check for Queen cells while your inspecting.

[power napper]

The way you are describing it I would definately say you witnessed a swarm, go the direction they flew and look for a football size clump of bees, if you are real observant you will see bees leaving and returning to the swarm cluster, in my area mostly the swarm does not go very far before alighting on a bush, tree limb or fence post.

[Rod Weakley]

I'm afraid it wasn't swarming... It was Absconding. Don't really know what sent them on their way. THere was 1 wax moth in the hive, but no wax moth damage. There were like 30 bees in the hive when I got home for lunch, and those I believe were the ones that had hatched out today. I felt bad for them (there's probably another 50 going to emerge), I don't have another hive at the house to give them too and can't risk the comb waiting to take them to my out yard. So I left them in the box with no comb and put a box of drawn comb in the deep freeze. Well I was thinking my outyard hives needed some more drawn comb to fill up for winter.

[The Honey House]

Have you been doing anything in regards to V mites?

[Rod Weakley]

They had a screened bottom board, and they were on foundationless frames, and they were from a package this year, so I'm thinking mites wasn't the problem. The dead brood that I saw didn't have any mites on it, when I pull the frames out of the freezer I'll take a closer look when I clean the brood out with tweezers..

[iddee]

You didn't mention any stores. If they have no food, all they can do is abscond.

[Rod Weakley]

HArd to tell if they had any stores, since they took all they had with them :D , But last time I checked they had some food, and I tried to feed them last week adn they didn't touch it, either they never found it, or they had a source.

[SilverFox]

might also have felt that they didn't have enough room.

[Rod Weakley]

They had plenty of room, I was considering consolidating them into 1 box soon. But ironies of ironies. I got a call today from a guy who has a bee tree down in his back yard that blew down in a storm Tuesday. So I'll gut it to a managable size haul it to my house and winter it in the log, then switch to regular equipment.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Jedi,
Split the log lengthways, peal the comb out so it is disorganized. Set the brood box with no bottom on or next to, touching the mass of bees, and they will march into the new hive. Take them home and feed heavily, they will be OK.

This works especially well with used comb.

[Rod Weakley]

I think I'd rather go ahead and winter them in their tree. Then next spring with there is tons more margin for error I'll cut them out. I can't wait, I bet these are some pretty awesome genetics. They should already be small cell LOL.