I almost cried today. :(
I captured two swarms over the weekend. One was the smallest of the season at under a lb, the other was the largest at about 8-10 lb. Today the big honking swarm absconded. They built 30 sq inches of comb but left it. No eggs.
I thought i had a good routine for swarms:
- 1. House in a 40 liter space or larger.
- 2. Put a drop of Lemon Grass Oil in the hive
- 3. Feed Immediately.
On cutouts, I also plug them up for 48 hours to reduce absconding. Should I now do that for swarms as well?