Two and a half weeks ago I started a trap out here in Iowa. The bees are in a stone column holding up a second story deck on a house. They had to go, so I said I would take them on. The site was on my way home from work, so I figured I would do it for the experience since I had never done a trap out before. Learning a lot, like the hive you put together piece by piece on the top of the ladder has to come back down in one piece - that didn't go so well, I ended up dropping it. I had to run home and quick make a rigid foam top and bottom board and put the whole thing back up and wait until the next day. Now I am making up all rigid foam boxes to cut down on weight.
Brought that box back after a week, put up second one. Today brought back second box. I have been getting them early in the morning by stuffing the entrance with upholstery foam and quick running them home. Later in the day I take out the next box and install it. Trap out bees get testy! They were nice as pie when I first installed the cone, but after - Whew!
This morning brought back second box, and went back in late afternoon to put third box up. When I got there there was a ball of bees on the side of the cone- about two feet away from the entrance area where they have been collecting. As I walked up with the new box, bees were landing and going inside before I even got there. I got the box in place and the whole mass marched into the new box and a bunch of bees at the entrance started fanning. The bees coming out of the cone weren't coming out in ones and twos like I have been seeing, they were rushing out. Also, they weren't aggressive at all, and trust me, they have been. Could I have got lucky and arrived just as they were absconding? Two and half weeks seems a bit early. I wasn't expecting to get any hives out of this, it is so incredibly late (although, oddly, a week ago my hives still had capped drone brood - and not just in one hive either.) The first box was making queen cells, I saw that when I dropped the box :-D
I guess I will find out. If I did get the queen, do you think I should do a newspaper combine with the first two boxes? I have capped frames of honey that I could set them up for Winter with.
JC