A neighbor called this afternoon. He had caught a swarm off his one hive. Having set the new hive on his pop-up camper, shook the bees in, and placed the lid on. The bees decided to cluster below the hive, on the side of the camper. He didn't know why or what to do next. I had to go over and scoop up the bees and reinstall them into the hive. It was getting dark by the time I got there and the bees were settling in for the night. They didn't like being disturbed again. 15 to 20 stings later, I had them in and we walked to his house. Of course, one had to hitch a ride on my shirt and get me one last time 30 minutes later. OH, Well...They are tucked in now and he is happy. Just one more bee day winding down. All's well that ends well.
So are you saying the bees were in the new hive and came out? A couple of other questions? Did the queen make into the box on the first install? Is this typical behavior? Was there food in the hive (syrup, honey, etc)? Should there have been an entrance reducer? Thanks!
It was the first swarm they had ever hived. My guess is the queen landed outside the hive when they shook the swarm in. They left the box to go to her.
