[jrshay]

Installed a package of bees including the queen 2 days ago. Queen was caged and left for the bees to release. Today, when I fed the bees and checked on the queen, the queen was not in the cage but there were lots of bees surrounding and inside the cage. Could this mean that the queen is gone and the bees are still smelling her and think she is still there? Another question, would the empty queen cages be good to place in swarm traps as an attractant?

 

[djei5]

Check in 3 to 5 days for eggs in comb. Most likely she was just released and they are finishing off the candy.

 

[Mr.Beeman]

The queen was released and they still smell her scent in the cage. Typical.
Most use LGO, but you could use it as an attractant in a swarm trap.

 

[BeeMoose]

I just added a new queen to a packaged hive last week. When I went in and removed the queen cage. It was surrounded by bees and had bees in the cage as well. Dumped the bees
off and helped the girls out of the cage and removed it. I'm sure they were just finishing cleaning the cage or their curiosity got the better of them. Normal behavior from what I have
seen.

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

If the queen has been released, remove the cage.

 

[Zbee]

It's her smell that is attracting them. I direct released my packages by opening the corked end and sticking the cage in through the entrance to the hive so only the back part is out. She walks out inside and joins her hive. Left the cage there for about an hour and came back to find bees absolutely crammed inside that box and all over it. It was like a queenless swarm. I shook them back out and discarded the box far away.