[SkyBry]

I moved a hive into a Top Bar Hive with a queen excluder (1/4" screen from Ace in the entrance). This included all the honeycomb which had brood on it. The next evening they went back to same place so as I was moving them again, they swarmed into a nearby tree. I used a ladder and knocked the whole hive into a bucket and then put them back into the Top Bar Hive. The next morning the hive swarmed into a nearby tree again and eventually flew off before I could get to them. Now, there are a few bees (20 bees or so including what I think is a drone - black tail, looks different than the rest) in the Top Bar Hive with all the honeycomb and they look like they are either attending it or robbing it. I just put some sugar water in the Top Bar Hive in hopes they will stay. Will they start eating the sugar water and building a new hive? Was my queen excluder too large or the wrong material?

 

[Zookeep]

number 8 metal cloth is what you needed not 1/4 inch, and hate to say it but 20 bees wont build a hive sounds to me like its over till you get a new hive.

 

[camero7]

Before I'd put more bees in the hive I'd make sure there isn't something that made them abscond [it wasn't swarming]. Could be paint or some other noxious material which caused it. Also a hive will never grow without a queen. The bees took her with them when they left.

 

[ApisBees]

1st Welcome to the forum. I noticed we all misted this on your first post. This was the aggressive tire hive that you had on your property I assume. first you should have placed the topbarhive where the tire with the hive had been as this is where the bees had oriented to. 1/4" screen is to large for a excluder. Wire size efects the size of the space in between. 1/4" screen the wire size used is to small allowing to much space that the queen can make it thru. If the queen is gone the hive is done. the few bees seen could be back robing out the remainder of any honey that was left.