[arcatamarcia]

My new package, which I installed last Sunday, swarmed today. At least I think that's what happened. All the bees came streaming out of the entrance of the hive. They flew around madly in a big cloud and eventually clustered on a large bush, up high. Fortunately it was my bush and not the neighbors. I cut away enough foliage that I could get a box up a ladder and was able to cut a branch with about half the bees on it and lowered it in the box and shook the rest in. After about 30 minutes I dumped most of the bees into a super with a feeder on it over the hive they were in.

I don't know why they swarmed, but assuming I got the queen (and I think I did, given the way the flying bees all went back to the hive), what's the likelihood they got it out of their system. I have plans for tomorrow, but I can cancel them if they're likely to swarm again. I'd hate to miss getting them again.

 

[tnmx]

If you have another hive. take out a frame of open brood and place it in the new hive. The bees will not leave the brood.

 

[arcatamarcia]

Sorry, no. I'm brand new to beekeeping. All I have is another package that was also hived Sunday.

 

[Joseph Clemens]

BTW, honey bee swarming is a very particular evolution, what you are describing is called absconding, not swarming. FWIW

What is often done in situations like this is to use excluders as a barricade to keep the queen from leaving, most times if the queen cannot accompany them in their efforts to abscond, they will eventually abort their efforts, stay home, and settle down.