I visited a bait hive today and found this:
As the “clump” of bees outside didn’t appear to be having anything to do with those inside, I guessed that it was perhaps two different swarms that had tried to move into the same bait hive, the one arriving last finding that they couldn’t go where they’d been planning.
I put a second hive on top of the first and with a little smoke they happily trooped upwards into it. I don’t imagine they’d have done that if they’d been part of the initial swarm. Two for one. Good catch 🙂
Then at another apiary I found this:
Again, the cluster of bees outside didn’t look as though they were part of the same colony as the one inside the hive. They were really not keen on moving however. In the end I had to scoop them off the outside of the hive and dump them bodily into another, getting stung on the hand for my trouble. What amazed me most about doing that however was how warm the huddle of bees was. Quite unexpected.
Both colonies seemed quite happy in their new homes once moved. I’ve never seen it happen before, but then I guess not so many people put out bait hives.