What are the chances a large swarm rests in a tree in 2 separate clusters on tree branches about 3 feet apart?
I came down my driveway around noon yesterday and saw a large cloud of bees in front of some of my hives. I was able to get back to them within 15 minutes to find 2 “swarms”, 3' apart on tree branches 100 feet from the hives. I was able to shake both into separate nuc boxes. When I checked on them 6 hours later one was fine (the larger one) while the other nuc box was empty. Either that swarm left or it was never a swarm and was part of the bigger one. Thoughts?
I came down my driveway around noon yesterday and saw a large cloud of bees in front of some of my hives. I was able to get back to them within 15 minutes to find 2 “swarms”, 3' apart on tree branches 100 feet from the hives. I was able to shake both into separate nuc boxes. When I checked on them 6 hours later one was fine (the larger one) while the other nuc box was empty. Either that swarm left or it was never a swarm and was part of the bigger one. Thoughts?