Strange captured swarm behavior

[antonio4231]

First let me preface this message by saying that I a first year beekeeper. I only new wooden ware and undrawn wax coated plastic foundation.

Last thursday I was called to come collect a swarm that had been on a cedar tree since the previous Sunday. Easy collection as the good size swarm was only about 3 feet off of the ground. Much easier than the first swarm I had collected.

I brought the swarm home and placed them in my deep box, stopped the bottom entrance an placed a shallow super on top, with a feedbag in it and a queen excluder over the top and the inside cover on. propped the telescoping cover up with wooden blocks to make a sheltered top entrance. Since my first swarm had absconded, I wanted to increase my odds of keeping this swarm so I screened the entrance for about 36 hours. No problem for ventilation as I made my hives with screened bottom boards.

The problem is after removing the screen, I have very few bees flying or feeding. They remain in a cluster suspended from the queen excluder. I am assuming that the bee's are still in the swarm mode. Since I am new to this I have no brood to put in with them to get them into the "nesting" mode.

As side note, I have some very large drones, that I don't believe came from this swarm trying to gain entrance to the hive. I have a feral colony living in the woods behind my house and my cousin has a few hives about a half mile away (they are very hot, so I'm not considering asking him for any brood, his stock came out of Texas) Which makes me wonder if I have a virgin queen that is unable to fly.

Any thoughts on the behavior? Should I just be patient and see what happens next?

By the way I am located in southern Oklahoma, and sorry for the length of this post. Thanks.

[D Coates]

First of all welcome to the site. There's a whole lot of info here. Take it all with a grain of salt and it's very helpful. You've alreay got the syrup on them. A frame of brood will lock them up. However, if I was you and not willing to get a frame of eggs and brood I'd simply wait and let them settle down. The longer they stay in there the better chance they start building and call it home.

PS I went to college at Austin College in Sherman, TX and had some great times in Durant, OK.

[naturebee]

I'm not getting exactly how the hive is configured.
But I’m going to take a guess here.
Swarms like to build comb from the highest point in the hive. If you have a feeder type that allows bees to cluster up in that area, Or empty box, then you MUST remove it, or face a mess of comb being built there.

Configure hives containing swarms with frames in all the spaces, don’t let any opportunity for them to build any place else.

I would offer up some more advice, that feeding a swarm in not necessary. Bees swarm during a heavy nectar flow, and that provides all the nourishment they need. Feeding swarms, IMO provides a lesser quality of nutrition than they can obtain from the forage. Also, too much intake of syrup can cause the storage of syrup to get ahead of the queen, perhaps, competing for egg laying space, and slowing colony expansion.

Best Wishes,
Joe
feralbeeproject.com

[iddee]

I think what you are seeing is "festooning". The bees are drawing out the new foundation, prepping for the incoming stores. They will send out foragers as the storage space increases.

[naturebee]

--The problem is after removing the screen, I have very few bees flying or feeding. They remain in a cluster suspended from the queen excluder.--

I’m not picturing where this excluder is positioned.
If it is on the bottom, and bees are hanging out side the hive, I would expect that your queen is outside the hive also.

If you have it positioned on top the hive, you need to fill all the spaces below with frames. Bees HATE to get started on plastic, coated with beeswax or not. If you leave any space without plastic, they will go there and cluster.

If they are hanging off the excluder, I agree with iddee, they are festooning.

Joe