I picked up a few swarms last spring and noticed they were more difficult to work when I harvested honey in the fall. This spring they are considerably hotter than my other non swarm hives. They are great honey producers, consumed less honey over the winter and really strong now....real survivors.
Their stings even seem to burn more than my other hives. I was stung a few times on the hand and experienced much more swelling than usual.
I am not sure the trade off is worth it because they are very difficult to work. How many of you folks collect swarms and are the swarms you collect hot? Should I expect "wild" swarms to be hotter than purchased queens?