but let me ask you this, did you have any kind of hive empty and ready, or did they just come flying by because they like to be in company?
Well, I was just placing the new (empty) hive box when I noticed the swarm. They must have been there before I set it up.
Today, we went back to check on things and this is where things start to get strange. I guess catching these swarms is not as easy as it looks on TV
First we checked up on the main (old) hive. It was very-full of bees, about as full as we've ever seen it. The upper deep was about 70% full of honey and most of it capped. We could see larvae in the space below, although we didn't remove the upper deep. We did not see the queen, but the bees weren't unusually agitated. We decided to add the first honey super to give them more room.
After that, we went to open up the new (swarm) hive and check on them and to place the remaining frames. To our surprise there was NOBODY HOME! Well a few bees were poking around in there but the huge pile we dumped in there yesterday was no where to be seen - gone!
I can only think of two explanations (besides alien abduction) that could explain this:
A. The swarm was originally our bees and they had only been out of the main hive for a short time, and happily returned to the original hive after their short "field trip".
B. The swarm was not originally our bees, and they for some reason picked up and moved on, not being happy with the perfectly acceptable living quarters I provided and are now nowhere in sight.
As for explanation "A", is it common or typical? Does this explain the crowds on the original hive exterior in the video? Did we make a mistake by locating their new home so close to the original? What might be the status of the Queen(s) for this to happen?
As for explanation "B", is it common or typical? After they gladly marched in, why would they leave?
Are there other theories?