We have 20 hives - 2nd year beek, started with 3 Nucs. I have 19 and hubby has one. I happened to be near hubby's prized hive yesterday when it began to swarm. My reaction was to plug all holes! But 1/2 had escaped and were blackening the sky when i got the river of bees stopped. I must have either killed a queen by accident or prevented her from leaving. After a few minutes they all began to return and beard on the outside and underneath. Maybe it would have happened without my intervention but I'm taking credit! Hubby owes me big time! I reopened the hive in about an hour and they all went back in. Full inspection today. Better than ever! Queenrite and #4 super added!
WOW! My dad has done experiments with few swarms in his beekeeping journey of 30+ years. He temporarily held the queens back, and the swarms have returned back to the original hive almost every time. Even tho some "professors" say that this is not possible, my dad has seen it happen multiple times. I agree 100%, having experience in the field is very valuable. Very true when you said that the bees have a mind of their own. It's hard to know exactly what they will do and those who claim that they know without fieldwork are to be questioned. Can't wait to show this video to my dad, he will love it.
I had the same thing happen to me this past week. I was in the bee yard installing some queen into some nucs when I observed one of my 10 frames beginning to swarm. They gathered ona nearby tree limb and settled into a nice 2 to 3 pound ball. I began to gather an empty nuc and ladder and noticed that the swarm was taking flight again. To my amazement, they went right back into the same hive that they originally came out of.
I have lost my queen twice in the past month. I am so scared I am going to lose my entire hive to collapse. Is there a chance that they are being called / scented to other bee boxes with bait near by?
Happened Exactly the same to me David... by the time i got set to capture the swarm, i saw them all swarm back INTO the same box! i was amazed and Happy.. definitely reduced their hive population immediately! Glad to see someone else had the same experience!
Hey David! I had a similar thing happed to me here in WV about 3-4 days ago. It was a hot day. I watched a swarm come out of one of my hives and settle in a pine tree. Then about an hour later, while I was preparing to capture the swarm, a different hive swarmed into the same tree! Both were large swarms. When I attempted to shake the first swarm into a box, they flew out of the box and combined with the 2nd swarm! So now I have one mega swarm in the tree. I shook the combined swarm into a box and got about 2/3 of them into a 10 frame box. I gently put a lid on them and moved them about 30 yards away, then shook the rest into another box, hoping I got at least one queen in each. As I took a deep breath began to watch the bees, there was fighting amongst the bees in both boxes. They were carrying dead bees out of the hive. Then swarm began to form in the air and I watched as bees poured back into 2nd hive that had just swarmed, just like in this video. I was completely confused. Then about an hour later, first 10 frame capture was very busy and doing well but the second 10 frame box was empty. I guess the swarms fought and the first swarm killed the second swarms queen(s)? So the second swarm returned to its hive. Not sure what happened. Any thoughts?
Mine are doing it at the moment and never seen anything like it. Thanks for the heads up and will keep an eye out in the next couple of days for possible second swarming
Hello Barnyard Bees Last Wednesday the same thing happend with a swarm from one of my hives. I was really confused for the first moment because I did not realise what was going in. Than I looked at the ground and I saw the Queen lying in the grass with 5 Bees with her. I took her in my hand and saw that she only had one wing.That was the reason why all bees flew back to their original hive and did not understand where their queen went. Strange weather conditions at Germany at the moment normally we have swarms much later in the year and not at May. Greetings from Germany Lukas🐝
Exactly the same this happened to me yesterday, I thought I must have overlooked something, or my eyes betrayed me but thanks to your video I can see I was not wrong and it's possible!
Hey Dave I had the exact same thing happen about 3 weeks ago, I had one of mine swarming watched them land in a bush behind the hive, I shook them in another box and set them on the stand beside the original hive walked around to the original and on the ground in front it was a cluster of bees with the old marked queen, I caged her and moved her to a split I had made and took out the queen cell and let her go a couple of hours later. The shook swarm I checked on the next day to see if a queen was with them and they was gone not a bee in the box so I opened the original hive where the swarm came from and it was packed with bees again so I think that the swarm went back to the original hive and I also saw the new queen come back from her mating flight and land on the ground in front so I picked her up and put her in the hive. It has been a very interesting start to beekeeping this spring here in Virginia.
I had that same thing happen last week. swarmed to a cedar bush and then returned to the hive. I found the queen in the bottom box. Made a split as there were swarm cells in the hive.I assumed the queen didn't go and they returned. I actually made a video and asked the same questions. swarm or mating flight.
We had a swarm return to the hive this morning (7-3-2020) about 10:30. The queen and a dozen bees were on the ground about 150 feet away from the hive. We put her in a new hive body with frame of brood and honey, along with a large number of bees from her old hive. In the old hive we found four capped queen cells. We did not see a queen, but hopefully there will be one soon.
Hi David, I live in Honduras and this swarm season I have about 30 nucs on my rooftop. I live at the foot of a rainforest, so the smell of my apiary has basically attracted almost a swarm every day for the past 2 weeks. I cage the queens when I can and I have noticed with these swarms they'll often abandon the queen in the cage and swarm off with only a few staying behind, but I theorize that they just go back up into the air and maybe merge with another swarm. What say you my friend?
I'm totally totally amazed that my babies are doing this exact same thing right now. They swarmed and flew onto a tree. I went to get a box and they came right back to their original hive. I've never ever known them to do this before
I had something similar happen 2 days ago. one of my hives swarmed to a tree just above. I was worried that they might not go to my swarm trap so I shook them into a net. I was able to get about half of them including the queen into another box, but in the meantime I noticed the other half returning to the hive they had originally swarmed from. Pretty crazy to see.
Thanks for this. Just had this happen today and could not figure it out. So thanks for sharing your video. It helped. I saw the initial swarm in progress and a pipeline of bees going up into a tree. The noise and activity/cloud stopped and all was calm at the swarm cluster up high in an oak tree at at the box. Then in about 15 minutes later there were bees in a cloud again at both the tree and the box and when I approached the box they were training back in. Crazy!
Just had this happen on Thursday! They was swarming up over my shop garage in the back. I let the dogs out and I could hear them, so loud! After about 20 minutes they turned into a bee tornado around the hive! They all ended up landing on the hives leg in a massive ball. I ran and grabbed a 10 frame deep , threw it between the super and the original deep. I've been checking the last few days. I hope the ball of bees went back in! Cause I kept checking and the was still a ball on the leg next few hours but it was getting dark by then. I woke up and the hive was back to business as usual. I didnt notice any queen cells, no infestations etc. Btw, love the bees we got from you. Tamest bees we've ever had! But wanted to share our recent experience with you!
I had bees when nine yr old,had a swarm come our,never ball when back in hive about 20 minutes. The queen never came out. First time seeing,very rare. I am 64 yr old. Awsone sight
Hi David, Hi David as others have commented, when queens are clipped the swarm will always return. If the clipped queen is lost on her attempt to swarm, then usually a swarm will again go out when one of the queen cells hatch. Regards Alan
I had a hive swarm out about 20 feet from the hive, I started to get ready to catch it, but before I could catch it, it went back to the box, and hour later same the again. I repeated 6 time finally I said go bees, I will replace y'all with a more predictable hive. In the end I think hive Beatles were taking over.
We had almost exactly the same 5 days ago only we didn't see a queen, but we think the patrolling blackbird ate her so the swarm went home again. They settled back down straight away, and we're pretty sure a virgin emerged the next day so hopefully she's now on her mating flights and will be laying in a few days!
I noticed my bees mainly a swarm I caught almost a month ago and also the 2 pkg hives I started in March doing something similar yesterday after a rain, they were pouring out and flying around some were still fuzzy looking so I figured it was orientation flights of bees that were graduating to foragers
This happened to us yesterday!!! My husband caught a swarm. Actually caught the swarm. The next day the swarm was gone. Looked on our weaker hive where the swarm had come from they were hanging there!! This explains how it happened we couldn’t figure out what happened. Now that hive will be stronger.
Very interesting! I just witnessed the same phenomenon for the first time earlier this week. I saw a swarm leaving a hive and watched it settle on the trunk of a small pine tree. After setting a nuc with a frame of honey and two frames with foundation on a ladder with the entrance near the cluster, the bees began to move into the nuc. After about 15 minutes, I watched them go back into swarm mode then proceeded to return to the original hive! I guess something must have happened to their queen.
This has been happening to me also. I feel like it's a morning exercise, then they go back in. I definitely need a another box. My bee population grew so fast. Right now they are in a tree but not all of them.
i have the same issues where i am ive had multiple swarms do that to me and usually thats because there are either multiple queens in the swarm or they swarmed with a virgin queen , as to why it happens im leaning on the queen not having enough pheromones to let them know that shes there
I had that happen last year, they swarmed I ran to the hardware store and pick up a 8 frame,when I got back they had returned to the original hive. The next day they swarmed again and I was able to catch them only one queen. I checked the hive they swarmed from and there were 2 laying queens on the same frame I wish I had video it but didn't, I did make another split the following day.
I had that same thing happen last year on one of my 5 framers. They swarmed I found the queen right in front of the hive. They clustered on a tree and then broke cluster and clustered back on there own box again.
We have been trying to catch some swarms with swarm traps to no avail. My friend wants to know if you still have some nucs available and how much are they. We live in Tullahoma Tn. and could make a one day trip down to pick them up Thanks
The same thing happened to me. They swarmed, I found the queen on the ground put her in the orginal box, caught the swarm in another box and they left and went back into the original box. It was crazy!
we humans will never truly understand bees they are like water we can controll water but you can never hold it back, bees will and always be bees that is how they are,
I also have seen one of my hives swarm and land on a limb about 10 feet from the hive they came out of (about two years ago). after I got a ladder and a hive body ready they took off and went back to the hive they came out of. I had never seen that happen before.
I have seen this several times they swarm out and then returned. I have seen mating flight and you think they swarmed. And I have seen them do a false swarm and do it. They will swarm out in several days if you don't split them.
was that done in the same day, ours was in the tree until later this morning,, and now there is more bees by the hive that swarmed, we added another deep body.
Without a queen, they are dead. I assume they can produce another queen from the old hive? If so they need to make another queen so must return until then.
Is it possible to set an empty box with starter frames on an adjustable pole? Leave it there 24/7, this way any group that swarms will find it. Like bait.
I've read about Russian swarm scions. They're a tiny shelter on a pole. Really nothing much more than a plank of wood or a wood roof on a pole. I also have purchased a nylon cone that's supposed to be hung up and attract swarms just by fulfilling the instinct for something enclosed. What I'm seeing each year at my bee club is a that particular tree limb becomes the favorite place. At first with being sheltering and then I suspect the queen pheromone is there and becomes even more attractive to swarms. Unfortunately, this year that limb is not easily reached. We had a much better time hiving swarms last year when it was a low crepe myrtle. I think it's time for us to experiment with a scion of different sorts and see what happens.
Just a suggestion, if you see a hive needs splitting but don't have enough time to fool with it, why not throw another box on top of it with frames, this will buy time till you split it like you usually do. It's quicker and could avoid the swarm.
Does it work? I was going to do that last summer, and was building a new hive box to split them. All I had left was the lid......too late! There they went! I was thinking of putting the new box on top with a queen excluder in between. I few frames of brood on top. Seems like an easy way to split them without searching for the queen?
@@cluelessbeekeeping1322 There was two queen cells inside. We knew they were there, but left them planning to split the hive. I didn't get the box made in time, but after they swarmed, we put a queen cell in each box and split them. (they were on different frames) It worked fine. This spring though the original hive isn't doing well. The queen is there, but very few bees. Some larva and capped brood. They ran out of honey, so I stole two partial uncapped frames from other hives. We also put a pollen pack inside yesterday, and have been feeding sugar water....….keeping our fingers crossed, but I think we will loose that hive. Spring is late coming this year. I think they are getting robbed as well. Not much out there for them yet.
@Muskrat OutdoorsOne thing they kept stressing at the last bee meeting is how much better new queens are. & most of the times I make a split, the split is always better than the original hive (in production). New queens rock. 1st year queens are much better than 2nd year queens.Sounds like your Spring is similar to ours, it's not late, but strange. Lots of rain, too cool (for here). I've been feeding bees like CRAZY. Every time I go in, they're close to running out of honey. I'm in Austin, TX, what about you?I too have had some tiny tiny nucs ursurpted by bigger meaner swarms. Robbing has also been a problem for me. I just put tiny reducers on them, and then open feed far away from the hives. I figure, give all the local bees some sugary bee hooch.
Mine have just done exactly the same as yours have I found a queen on my lawn a good 15 minutes after they all returned and bees returned to the hive im not sure if it was a swarm that discarded thier queen and found my colony I just dont know
Wow. This just happened to me but it is so late in the season I’m leery of splitting. But, might work. I inherited a double deep hive, the fella had harvested the honey from 2 supers. When I inspected a few weeks ago there seemed to be space so, I was letting them bulk up to prep for winter. The hive is 2 deeps and 2 medium supers and they have almost loaded one of the supers with honey again. Maybe I should split and feed them trying to baby them, with a bunch of help perhaps they would make it? Or should I let them be, put out a few empty boxes and see what happens?
@@Holdfast I did split them, both hives then did well right up until February but we had a few days of warm up and then temps crashed way below zero and I lost both queens. So by the time Spring rolled around they were gunners. But, the split did seem to work for me!
David, I had the exact same thing happen to me last season. It was the very 1st part of May in central Alabama. The swarm came out and I actually got them to go into my NUC box. They all went in, fanning just like they were excited about the place. All the sudden, they came back out and went into the hive they swarmed from. I happened to catch them as they were coming out of the hive originally. Trust me, I was scratching my head on that one too! I've had bees not accept a hive and come running out, but they would cluster up on another tree or something. Not go back to the same hive. They ended up swarming out the very next day and I found the queen, put her in a cage and into the NUC for 2 days. They stayed after that. Here's the video of them coming out again the very next day. ua-cam.com/video/F3s64WQE--w/v-deo.html
I did. here it is: ua-cam.com/video/NIuu-fllUIs/v-deo.html Edit: What is most amazing to me is that you figured out how to reverse that. Had you left the old queen in her same location - they would have returned and probably reswarmed. But you put her box elsewhere, and put a new box there for the returning bees. I'm sure you had a frame of eggs in there as they will now need to make a new queen - unless the new queen was on one of the frames you took from the original box and put in the new box. A new way to do a split and one totally and uniquely Barnyard Bees! LOL
@@davidhaught84 Yes, me too. That video definitely was one I remembered! Did not think about it until you had a swarm return to their hive, then it clicked. Fred let that one swarm on purpose, I have no doubt he spent hours figuring out how to let it swarm and what could he do after he filmed it to get it BACK! lol
This happened to me 3 days ago. Had no idea what was going on. They left the box flew high and returned a few minutes later. I assume the queen couldn't fly. I checked the box again today and couldn't find the queen. hmm...
I had this very same exact thing with the very first swarm I had this year I was there when it started and I found the marked Queen on the ground. And I took her and I took a bunch of bees and put her in another hive. A week later I have an after swarm and a week after that another after swarm. Talk about being confused about things
had similar thing happen in my swarm trap,,the bees come in and looked like a good swarm but there was not any fanny indicator with the bees as they entered the box. Next morning all were gone but a hand full of bees that tried as they could to build up comb but no queeen...Lol
I am not a bee keeper, don't think I know much! But I was thinking that they swarmed lost the queen. The only way for them to survive is go back to the hive take some eggs and make queen cells to make a new queen. Just logical, the swarm must survive! What is the best way for that to happen? If they didn't find another swarm with a queen they would all die! The only way is to make a new queen. The only way to do that is to have eggs. If they went to another hive they bees there may not let them in. So going back to the hive they came from and making queen cells is the only way! I know almost nothing about bees but what I have learned from your videos. But I think that if you had not put the queen in there they would have made 3 or 4 queen cells because that would be the only way for the swarm to survive! And they must survive! That is in there DNA,
if you shoot a gun a few times (into the ground for safety) it makes the hive think there is a thunderstorm coming in. it will stop a swarm and make them land
We have 20 hives - 2nd year beek, started with 3 Nucs. I have 19 and hubby has one. I happened to be near hubby's prized hive yesterday when it began to swarm. My reaction was to plug all holes! But 1/2 had escaped and were blackening the sky when i got the river of bees stopped. I must have either killed a queen by accident or prevented her from leaving. After a few minutes they all began to return and beard on the outside and underneath. Maybe it would have happened without my intervention but I'm taking credit! Hubby owes me big time! I reopened the hive in about an hour and they all went back in. Full inspection today. Better than ever! Queenrite and #4 super added!
WOW! My dad has done experiments with few swarms in his beekeeping journey of 30+ years. He temporarily held the queens back, and the swarms have returned back to the original hive almost every time. Even tho some "professors" say that this is not possible, my dad has seen it happen multiple times. I agree 100%, having experience in the field is very valuable. Very true when you said that the bees have a mind of their own. It's hard to know exactly what they will do and those who claim that they know without fieldwork are to be questioned. Can't wait to show this video to my dad, he will love it.
Anna Kra Дядя Паша молодец. He sure knows how to tango with them bees😁.
I had the same thing happen to me this past week. I was in the bee yard installing some queen into some nucs when I observed one of my 10 frames beginning to swarm. They gathered ona nearby tree limb and settled into a nice 2 to 3 pound ball. I began to gather an empty nuc and ladder and noticed that the swarm was taking flight again. To my amazement, they went right back into the same hive that they originally came out of.
Don Caffey have you had any other issues with them?
It's happening to my bogan Hive at this exact moment now. I'm just wondering if stayed put
He didn't
I have lost my queen twice in the past month. I am so scared I am going to lose my entire hive to collapse. Is there a chance that they are being called / scented to other bee boxes with bait near by?
I too have seen the same thing in the past.They always do cool things and it keeps beekeeping fun.
Happened Exactly the same to me David... by the time i got set to capture the swarm, i saw them all swarm back INTO the same box! i was amazed and Happy.. definitely reduced their hive population immediately! Glad to see someone else had the same experience!
Hey David! I had a similar thing happed to me here in WV about 3-4 days ago. It was a hot day. I watched a swarm come out of one of my hives and settle in a pine tree. Then about an hour later, while I was preparing to capture the swarm, a different hive swarmed into the same tree! Both were large swarms. When I attempted to shake the first swarm into a box, they flew out of the box and combined with the 2nd swarm! So now I have one mega swarm in the tree. I shook the combined swarm into a box and got about 2/3 of them into a 10 frame box. I gently put a lid on them and moved them about 30 yards away, then shook the rest into another box, hoping I got at least one queen in each. As I took a deep breath began to watch the bees, there was fighting amongst the bees in both boxes. They were carrying dead bees out of the hive. Then swarm began to form in the air and I watched as bees poured back into 2nd hive that had just swarmed, just like in this video. I was completely confused. Then about an hour later, first 10 frame capture was very busy and doing well but the second 10 frame box was empty. I guess the swarms fought and the first swarm killed the second swarms queen(s)? So the second swarm returned to its hive. Not sure what happened. Any thoughts?
So thankful you posted this cause my bees just did the exact same thing and yep. They did it again in a day or two
Mine are doing it at the moment and never seen anything like it. Thanks for the heads up and will keep an eye out in the next couple of days for possible second swarming
Hello Barnyard Bees
Last Wednesday the same thing happend with a swarm from one of my hives.
I was really confused for the first moment because I did not realise what was going in.
Than I looked at the ground and I saw the Queen lying in the grass with 5 Bees with her.
I took her in my hand and saw that she only had one wing.That was the reason why all bees flew back to their original hive and did not understand where their queen went.
Strange weather conditions at Germany at the moment normally we have swarms much later in the year and not at May.
Greetings from Germany
Lukas🐝
I appreciate your amazement at a new occurrence. This is me every time I see my bees do anything.
Exactly the same this happened to me yesterday, I thought I must have overlooked something, or my eyes betrayed me but thanks to your video I can see I was not wrong and it's possible!
I hate when bees betray me 😌
Hey Dave I had the exact same thing happen about 3 weeks ago, I had one of mine swarming watched them land in a bush behind the hive, I shook them in another box and set them on the stand beside the original hive walked around to the original and on the ground in front it was a cluster of bees with the old marked queen, I caged her and moved her to a split I had made and took out the queen cell and let her go a couple of hours later. The shook swarm I checked on the next day to see if a queen was with them and they was gone not a bee in the box so I opened the original hive where the swarm came from and it was packed with bees again so I think that the swarm went back to the original hive and I also saw the new queen come back from her mating flight and land on the ground in front so I picked her up and put her in the hive. It has been a very interesting start to beekeeping this spring here in Virginia.
I had that same thing happen last week. swarmed to a cedar bush and then returned to the hive. I found the queen in the bottom box. Made a split as there were swarm cells in the hive.I assumed the queen didn't go and they returned. I actually made a video and asked the same questions. swarm or mating flight.
Wow . Good story. Is your video on your channel and can you please put a link in here.
We had a swarm return to the hive this morning (7-3-2020) about 10:30. The queen and a dozen bees were on the ground about 150 feet away from the hive. We put her in a new hive body with frame of brood and honey, along with a large number of bees from her old hive. In the old hive we found four capped queen cells. We did not see a queen, but hopefully there will be one soon.
Hi David, I live in Honduras and this swarm season I have about 30 nucs on my rooftop. I live at the foot of a rainforest, so the smell of my apiary has basically attracted almost a swarm every day for the past 2 weeks. I cage the queens when I can and I have noticed with these swarms they'll often abandon the queen in the cage and swarm off with only a few staying behind, but I theorize that they just go back up into the air and maybe merge with another swarm. What say you my friend?
I'm totally totally amazed that my babies are doing this exact same thing right now. They swarmed and flew onto a tree. I went to get a box and they came right back to their original hive. I've never ever known them to do this before
I had something similar happen 2 days ago. one of my hives swarmed to a tree just above. I was worried that they might not go to my swarm trap so I shook them into a net. I was able to get about half of them including the queen into another box, but in the meantime I noticed the other half returning to the hive they had originally swarmed from. Pretty crazy to see.
Thanks for the video.
A few years ago I recorded my bees leave and return to their hive 2 or 3 times. I was totally confused.
Thanks for this. Just had this happen today and could not figure it out. So thanks for sharing your video. It helped. I saw the initial swarm in progress and a pipeline of bees going up into a tree. The noise and activity/cloud stopped and all was calm at the swarm cluster up high in an oak tree at at the box. Then in about 15 minutes later there were bees in a cloud again at both the tree and the box and when I approached the box they were training back in. Crazy!
Just had this happen on Thursday! They was swarming up over my shop garage in the back. I let the dogs out and I could hear them, so loud! After about 20 minutes they turned into a bee tornado around the hive! They all ended up landing on the hives leg in a massive ball. I ran and grabbed a 10 frame deep , threw it between the super and the original deep. I've been checking the last few days. I hope the ball of bees went back in! Cause I kept checking and the was still a ball on the leg next few hours but it was getting dark by then. I woke up and the hive was back to business as usual. I didnt notice any queen cells, no infestations etc. Btw, love the bees we got from you. Tamest bees we've ever had! But wanted to share our recent experience with you!
I had bees when nine yr old,had a swarm come our,never ball when back in hive about 20 minutes. The queen never came out. First time seeing,very rare. I am 64 yr old. Awsone sight
Hi David, Hi David as others have commented, when queens are clipped the swarm will always return. If the clipped queen is lost on her attempt to swarm, then usually a swarm will again go out when one of the queen cells hatch.
Regards Alan
I had a hive swarm out about 20 feet from the hive, I started to get ready to catch it, but before I could catch it, it went back to the box, and hour later same the again. I repeated 6 time finally I said go bees, I will replace y'all with a more predictable hive. In the end I think hive Beatles were taking over.
We had almost exactly the same 5 days ago only we didn't see a queen, but we think the patrolling blackbird ate her so the swarm went home again. They settled back down straight away, and we're pretty sure a virgin emerged the next day so hopefully she's now on her mating flights and will be laying in a few days!
I heard the queen piping when you picked her up,, she said" come-on-back David caught me"😎😎😎
I noticed my bees mainly a swarm I caught almost a month ago and also the 2 pkg hives I started in March doing something similar yesterday after a rain, they were pouring out and flying around some were still fuzzy looking so I figured it was orientation flights of bees that were graduating to foragers
This happened to us yesterday!!! My husband caught a swarm. Actually caught the swarm. The next day the swarm was gone. Looked on our weaker hive where the swarm had come from they were hanging there!! This explains how it happened we couldn’t figure out what happened. Now that hive will be stronger.
David....one more question. What do you think was going on with that yellow boxes increased activity?
I’m always looking on the ground. I’ve found many queens that way too.
Thank you for this video! I enjoyed watching that swarm. Very informative!
Very interesting! I just witnessed the same phenomenon for the first time earlier this week. I saw a swarm leaving a hive and watched it settle on the trunk of a small pine tree. After setting a nuc with a frame of honey and two frames with foundation on a ladder with the entrance near the cluster, the bees began to move into the nuc. After about 15 minutes, I watched them go back into swarm mode then proceeded to return to the original hive! I guess something must have happened to their queen.
what happened to the original box? Did they eventually re-swarm?
This has been happening to me also. I feel like it's a morning exercise, then they go back in. I definitely need a another box. My bee population grew so fast. Right now they are in a tree but not all of them.
I'm a first year beekeeper. This happened to our hive. First hive, first swarm. Interesting this is so rare
i have the same issues where i am ive had multiple swarms do that to me and usually thats because there are either multiple queens in the swarm or they swarmed with a virgin queen , as to why it happens im leaning on the queen not having enough pheromones to let them know that shes there
I had that happen last year, they swarmed I ran to the hardware store and pick up a 8 frame,when I got back they had returned to the original hive. The next day they swarmed again and I was able to catch them only one queen. I checked the hive they swarmed from and there were 2 laying queens on the same frame I wish I had video it but didn't, I did make another split the following day.
I had that same thing happen last year on one of my 5 framers. They swarmed I found the queen right in front of the hive. They clustered on a tree and then broke cluster and clustered back on there own box again.
Back to the Queen certainly sounds right to me...
I know that you have been busy, but I asked about 3 months ago for you to do a video on how when and why to do splits.
We have been trying to catch some swarms with swarm traps to no avail. My friend wants to know if you still have some nucs available and how much are they.
We live in Tullahoma Tn. and could make a one day trip down to pick them up
Thanks
The same thing happened to me. They swarmed, I found the queen on the ground put her in the orginal box, caught the swarm in another box and they left and went back into the original box. It was crazy!
we humans will never truly understand bees they are like water we can controll water but you can never hold it back, bees will and always be bees that is how they are,
I also have seen one of my hives swarm and land on a limb about 10 feet from the hive they came out of (about two years ago). after I got a ladder and a hive body ready they took off and went back to the hive they came out of. I had never seen that happen before.
ours did saturday,, in the oak tree above their hive.
I have seen this several times they swarm out and then returned. I have seen mating flight and you think they swarmed. And I have seen them do a false swarm and do it. They will swarm out in several days if you don't split them.
Test flight! They will still swarm once the queen decides to go
was that done in the same day, ours was in the tree until later this morning,, and now there is more bees by the hive that swarmed, we added another deep body.
What did you do with the queen you found?
Without a queen, they are dead.
I assume they can produce another queen from the old hive?
If so they need to make another queen so must return until then.
They forgot their queen?
No need to fear!!! It was just a fire drill!
Crazy
David, that was a mating flight.
That was an awesome video, thank you for all you do!
What did you do with the queen found on the ground?
Is it possible to set an empty box with starter frames on an adjustable pole? Leave it there 24/7, this way any group that swarms will find it. Like bait.
I've read about Russian swarm scions. They're a tiny shelter on a pole. Really nothing much more than a plank of wood or a wood roof on a pole. I also have purchased a nylon cone that's supposed to be hung up and attract swarms just by fulfilling the instinct for something enclosed. What I'm seeing each year at my bee club is a that particular tree limb becomes the favorite place. At first with being sheltering and then I suspect the queen pheromone is there and becomes even more attractive to swarms. Unfortunately, this year that limb is not easily reached. We had a much better time hiving swarms last year when it was a low crepe myrtle. I think it's time for us to experiment with a scion of different sorts and see what happens.
Did you put the queen back into the box? It would be good to know if the swarm accepted the old queen
Very nice
Just a suggestion, if you see a hive needs splitting but don't have enough time to fool with it, why not throw another box on top of it with frames, this will buy time till you split it like you usually do. It's quicker and could avoid the swarm.
Does it work? I was going to do that last summer, and was building a new hive box to split them. All I had left was the lid......too late! There they went! I was thinking of putting the new box on top with a queen excluder in between. I few frames of brood on top. Seems like an easy way to split them without searching for the queen?
If they're going to swarm in the next few days, no, but if you have no time, or not much time and catch them in time, it works dandy-like.
If they're swarming I like to just split them and give them room...but equipment can be a limitation.
@@cluelessbeekeeping1322 There was two queen cells inside. We knew they were there, but left them planning to split the hive. I didn't get the box made in time, but after they swarmed, we put a queen cell in each box and split them. (they were on different frames) It worked fine. This spring though the original hive isn't doing well. The queen is there, but very few bees. Some larva and capped brood. They ran out of honey, so I stole two partial uncapped frames from other hives. We also put a pollen pack inside yesterday, and have been feeding sugar water....….keeping our fingers crossed, but I think we will loose that hive. Spring is late coming this year. I think they are getting robbed as well. Not much out there for them yet.
@Muskrat OutdoorsOne thing they kept stressing at the last bee meeting is how much better new queens are. & most of the times I make a split, the split is always better than the original hive (in production). New queens rock. 1st year queens are much better than 2nd year queens.Sounds like your Spring is similar to ours, it's not late, but strange. Lots of rain, too cool (for here). I've been feeding bees like CRAZY. Every time I go in, they're close to running out of honey. I'm in Austin, TX, what about you?I too have had some tiny tiny nucs ursurpted by bigger meaner swarms. Robbing has also been a problem for me. I just put tiny reducers on them, and then open feed far away from the hives. I figure, give all the local bees some sugary bee hooch.
What do you do when they go up high and, as you say, out of reach?
i have saw swams come back to the hive they came out of several times
Off topic do You have an opinion on single brood Box hives vs double brood Box hives?
I had a hive do this today!
Barnyard Bees has healthy packages
They were just helping with your video . academy award for most dramatic lead actress goes to .... Queen Bee !!!
My hive did the same thing last Tuesday it was wild
The Queen you found was the swarm Queen and you set her on the Box? If so that will make them return
Mine have just done exactly the same as yours have I found a queen on my lawn a good 15 minutes after they all returned and bees returned to the hive im not sure if it was a swarm that discarded thier queen and found my colony I just dont know
That is very cool. Thanks.
Wow. This just happened to me but it is so late in the season I’m leery of splitting. But, might work. I inherited a double deep hive, the fella had harvested the honey from 2 supers. When I inspected a few weeks ago there seemed to be space so, I was letting them bulk up to prep for winter. The hive is 2 deeps and 2 medium supers and they have almost loaded one of the supers with honey again.
Maybe I should split and feed them trying to baby them, with a bunch of help perhaps they would make it? Or should I let them be, put out a few empty boxes and see what happens?
Jellies, how did this story end up? I am in same boat it is mid August and these guys returned to the hive.
@@Holdfast I did split them, both hives then did well right up until February but we had a few days of warm up and then temps crashed way below zero and I lost both queens. So by the time Spring rolled around they were gunners. But, the split did seem to work for me!
Those who Clipped Queens wings ,when time of swarm come Queen cant fly swarm will.return back to hive
Amazing and incredibly interesting.
I had one of mine do this exact same thing yesterday lol
David, I had the exact same thing happen to me last season. It was the very 1st part of May in central Alabama. The swarm came out and I actually got them to go into my NUC box. They all went in, fanning just like they were excited about the place. All the sudden, they came back out and went into the hive they swarmed from. I happened to catch them as they were coming out of the hive originally. Trust me, I was scratching my head on that one too! I've had bees not accept a hive and come running out, but they would cluster up on another tree or something. Not go back to the same hive. They ended up swarming out the very next day and I found the queen, put her in a cage and into the NUC for 2 days. They stayed after that. Here's the video of them coming out again the very next day. ua-cam.com/video/F3s64WQE--w/v-deo.html
Returning to the colony happens more often than one really understands. I’ve heard of it happen a couple of times in the same day out of the same box
David, I am guessing you caught their Queen and they arrived at the rendezvous point - Queenless! I think I saw that on a video Fred Dunn did.
I did. here it is:
ua-cam.com/video/NIuu-fllUIs/v-deo.html
Edit: What is most amazing to me is that you figured out how to reverse that. Had you left the old queen in her same location - they would have returned and probably reswarmed. But you put her box elsewhere, and put a new box there for the returning bees. I'm sure you had a frame of eggs in there as they will now need to make a new queen - unless the new queen was on one of the frames you took from the original box and put in the new box. A new way to do a split and one totally and uniquely Barnyard Bees! LOL
@@davidhaught84
True. All they wanted was a queen, mid-swarm, any queen would do!
@@davidhaught84
Yes, me too. That video definitely was one I remembered! Did not think about it until you had a swarm return to their hive, then it clicked. Fred let that one swarm on purpose, I have no doubt he spent hours figuring out how to let it swarm and what could he do after he filmed it to get it BACK! lol
This happened to me 3 days ago. Had no idea what was going on. They left the box flew high and returned a few minutes later. I assume the queen couldn't fly. I checked the box again today and couldn't find the queen. hmm...
This just happened with our bees too. We thought maybe they decided to return home since it was kind of cool today. Really weird to see.
why you keep them in these small hives i've newer seen someone keeping bees i these smal hives except a swarm bees?
That was so cool! Sometimes better luck than skill. 🤯😂
Were there queen cells in the nuc?
Incredible
I had this very same exact thing with the very first swarm I had this year I was there when it started and I found the marked Queen on the ground. And I took her and I took a bunch of bees and put her in another hive. A week later I have an after swarm and a week after that another after swarm. Talk about being confused about things
When should I add a second deep
had similar thing happen in my swarm trap,,the bees come in and looked like a good swarm but there was not any fanny indicator with the bees as they entered the box. Next morning all were gone but a hand full of bees that tried as they could to build up comb but no queeen...Lol
This just happen to me today, exactly what happen. But I didn't find any queen.
Maybe because you got the Queen before she went up there!
They say if you comment really early after the video is uploaded, David will respond.
I have had the very same thing happen to one of my hives. It's a wonder to see. Thank you for your videos.
Just happened to me yesterday.
Clipped queen probably
Amazing insight buddy!!
That’s dang cool!!!
If the queen doesn't make decisions in the hive, then who does?
I am not a bee keeper, don't think I know much! But I was thinking that they swarmed lost the queen. The only way for them to survive is go back to the hive take some eggs and make queen cells to make a new queen. Just logical, the swarm must survive! What is the best way for that to happen? If they didn't find another swarm with a queen they would all die! The only way is to make a new queen. The only way to do that is to have eggs. If they went to another hive they bees there may not let them in. So going back to the hive they came from and making queen cells is the only way! I know almost nothing about bees but what I have learned from your videos. But I think that if you had not put the queen in there they would have made 3 or 4 queen cells because that would be the only way for the swarm to survive! And they must survive! That is in there DNA,
Just happened to us today!!!
if you shoot a gun a few times (into the ground for safety) it makes the hive think there is a thunderstorm coming in. it will stop a swarm and make them land
do queens mate during a swarm?
no. it is the old queen leaving. I am just a hobbyist so not an expert, but she should have mated long ago already.
@@@davidhaught84, sometimes it's a virgin queen in a after swarm
Lmfao ...shuffling, queens . Shuffling every day .....Mo than one queen. One went elsewhere other returned to hive.
It was hungry swarm, normal they never back
It's probably a fire drill
My thoughts are there going to swarm again in a day or two when the queen loses enough weight to make the flight
Kool ty