Getting a new swarm off to the best possible start

[YDK]

A bee swarm landed on a box in my yard yesterday, and I wanted to say thanks to Phil once again for his detailed guide on catching swarms.

Now for the interesting part—last year when a similar swarm landed, the bees stayed outside the box and didn't enter it. Based on follow-up messages at that time, I assumed it was probably due to a strong lemongrass scent in the box. However, the bees decided to stay outside again this time (see the photo!), even though the box has been sitting there for more than a month without any recent lemongrass oil. I would love to hear your thoughts on why they might prefer not to go inside. For context, the box had one old frame and seven empty frames.

I live in Sunnyvale where the nectar flow usually slows down by the end of June, if not earlier. Given that timing, do you think it would be a good idea to feed them sugar water to help establish the new colony? If so, what ratio would you recommend? I could add a frame full of honey, but I’ve heard sugar water works better to encourage bees to draw out the comb.

Thanks

[Philip von Furstenberg]

My dream is catch a swarm! How did you did it? 

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[Philip von Furstenberg]

I put lemongrass on the entrance to the hive and cleaned it up with a torch so it’s nice and ready for a swarm. What other tips do you have? 

[Gerald Przybylski]

Watch and look very carefully among the bees on the outside of the box
for the queen.
If you see her on the outside, try to scoop her up on a (drawn) frame.
You can manipulate her with a feather or a piece of card stock or post card,
 or scoop her and a few bees into a fast food plastic soft drink cup so
you can move her inside.
(The clear plastic cups are nice to work with)

Usually the queen goes inside, and the rest of the bees follow.  If
she's on the outside, they will probably stay with her.
She might be a virgin so quite hard to spot.  Her abdomen will be pointy
rather than rounded , and her color a bit different, usually.
Either way, the thorax will be shiny

If you don't find her outside carefully lift the cover off.   See if
she's inside.
See if the box is already FULL of bees, that can account for extra bees
clinging to the front.
You can look for her on the frames in the box, but that might be a
challenge.

If the box FULL, you add another box; the rest of the bees should move in.
NO NEED for LGO.  The bees have their own Nasanov pheromone, so they
don't need ours once they move in.

If the box is empty, take a frame out of the box, and use it to
carefully, slowly scoop/scrape bees off the side of the box onto the frame.
Put frame and bees back into the box.
Look for the queen again on the outside, and put her in the box, and
leave them to it. Otherwise repeat until most of the bees are in.

Set them up with a hive-top or internal syrup feeder, and some undrawn
or foundationless frames to draw. They really want to draw comb.
They do well with one-to-one or two-to-one syrup of table sugar and
water.   2 quarts of water + 4 to 8 pounds of sugar. Boil the water.
DON'T boil the syrup.

If you think the queen is a virgin, stay away from that part of the yard
between 11am and 6pm.   For mating flights,
She counts on landmarks to navigate back to the hive. If she comes out
and imprints on you, she may not be able to find Home.

Once the bees are in the box and have a feeder, look for eggs in a week
or two.  Check before 11am if you think she's a virgin.
If it's a primary swarm, she should start laying again in a day or three.

that's my 2¢

[YDK]

Philip, I totally empathize with you; I spent a long time in that same situation trying to figure out the best height and location for the box. Honestly, other than making sure it's in a sunlit area, I found it didn't matter all that much.

In my experience, Swarm Commander has actually worked a bit better than lemongrass oil. I usually spray just a tiny bit at the entrance and then a little more on one of the frames inside the box. For the setup, I use one or maybe two frames of old comb, but I leave the rest as empty frames without any foundation. I’ve even used a box with a pretty poorly made bottom board and just keep it on a metal stool to give it some height. Hope that helps!

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[YDK]

Thanks for the tips, those are really helpful!

I couldn't find the queen outside the box, so I did exactly as you described: I carefully scraped and scooped the bees from the outside and moved them inside. I’m going to try feeding them the sugar water syrup you recommended to help them get established, and I’m really hoping they settle down comfortably in their new home soon!

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