Caught a swarm... now what?

[Robin]

Hello everyone,

I have captured my first swarm!
Although because the size was very unexpected I only had 1 deep and one medium on hand (My other deep frames are deployed amongst traps). When I transferred the swarm from the box to the deep I couldn't believe how many bees I ended up with. After talking to the property owners and neighbours for about an hour as the rest of the swarm must have returned and settled into there mode of transportation. The cluster filled a large potion of the deep, so in my panic stuck a medium on.
Should I swap out the medium for a deep or just let things play out for the next couple of weeks and take what I get. I guess my main concern is long term planning for another Nova Scotia winter where I have been coached to keep two deeps and how to make that transition from the medium to a deep down the road.
Thanks in advance.

[Some Day]

With that big of a swarm I would put 2 deeps of foundation with the medium on top.  Swarms will draw out comb in a hurry, take advantage of that.  If you have a frame of open brood you could put it into the bottom deep to help anchor the swarm.

[Bakersdozen]

I agree with Some Day.  I am not familiar with NS beekeeping, but I would have them draw out as much comb as possible.  The medium may not provide enough comb for food stores to overwinter with.  You could feed 1:1 sugar syrup to help them with all that comb building.   Swarms are great at comb building.  Congratulations on your first swarm!

[Robin]

Great thank you. My next question is, I have a swarm trap on my property. Both the trap and an old tree were seeing some interest from what I assume were scouts (maybe robbers?). Should I leave the trap in the event the swarm possibly leaves again and maybe they will end up there or get rid of it all together?

[Some Day]

Keep the swarm trap up.  I have caught more than one swarm at the same location during a season.  They were about 3 weeks apart. The scouts are probably from a different hive than your swarm.

[Barbarian]

There is a danger that the swarm decides that the box is not big enough and absconds. Some keeps place an excluder under the brood box for a few days.

I do not feed a swarm for a week or so. The idea is that the swarm digests the stores it has brought. Digesting the honey in their stomachs is likely to destroy disease.

[efmesch]

From the size of that swarm it looks like you collected what's called a "Prime" swarm--the first swarm to leave a hive during swarming season.  A prime swarm comes with the old queen and she, of course, is already mated.  As soon as there are available cells for laying, she gets to work doing "her thing".  Once there are eggs and brood in a hive, it is highly unlikely for the former swarm (once they've started raising brood it's no longer considered a swarm) to abscond. 
Other than seeing to it that there is enough room in the hive for the family's needs,m you might want to consider the possibility of replacing the old queen with a new one---either buy purchase or by raising one yourself.
Considering that the swarm is a "gift" you received, you might think of it as an ideal opportunity to expand your beekeeping skills and raise the new queen yourself. 

[Robin]

Thanks for all of this. Day 4 now and from what I can tell they are still around! A cold rainy day is keeping them in today but I took a walk by and a handful are blocking the upper entrance so someone is home. I believe they have plenty of room (I hope). There has been plenty of activity the last few days so plan on opening them up in couple of days to see how things are working out. Just leaving them be for the time being. I have two deeps and a medium on. The two deeps had old comb and some left over honey stores so I am hoping that this gave the queen room to start laying while the rest repaired and cleaned old comb and made new.

[Robin]

Just an update. Some Day was correct. A new swarm appears to have moved into the trap which is only 100 or so feet away from the hive I placed the large swarm I captured last week in. I was concerned it may have been the large swarm moving but the trap was way to small for them to consider it. To be honest I am surprised this trap attracted a swarm, It is the sized of a 5 frame nuc box, but I does have some old comb in there. In regards to the large swarm there is confirmed pollen going in which is great news, so am I to assume they are happy with their new home?

I will be moving the newly trapped swarm to a deep today or tomorrow and eventually to another yard, to eventually come back to my home yard. Does this move process make sense?

[efmesch]

I will be moving the newly trapped swarm to a deep today or tomorrow and eventually to another yard, to eventually come back to my home yard. Does this move process make sense?

It makes perfect sense, in the present situation.  Considering that you have waited (even only one day), the best way to move a hive a short distance is by first moving it far away (over 8 km) so that the bees forget their first location and home in on a new one.  After about two weeks in the moved-to location, it's safe to move the hive back to a site near where the swarm first settled.  Not being in the vicinity of the second (temporary) location, they'll learn their new position and stick with it.
However, if you want (with your next swarm) to make the process easier and faster, I would recommend moving the swarm to the desired location on the first night after capture.  If you take the hive on the first night after the bees have moved in, (even a short distance) they have not yet really learned their position.  Since "everyone" is home at night, you lose no bees when they start out foraging the next morning, they first learn their new position and then get to work.  Some beekeepers like to place some weeds or sticks in front of the entrance to assure that the bees realize they are not in the same place where they were when they closed down for the night.
Another method for moving a hive a short distance, is to move it a little bit every day (about 1 meter) till you get it to the desired position.  The bees will adjust to the change of location, each day re-finding their entrance that has been slightly "misplaced".

[Robin]

How long should I wait to check on the big swarm now that I see pollen going in?
The little one from yesterday may have departed and I can't find them. Couldn't get the paint on their new deep to dry fast enough. I thought the nuc sized trap they found was a bit small.

[efmesch]

How long should I wait to check on the big swarm now that I see pollen going in?

My personal opinion is to check it out as soon as convenient for you.  But you don't have to overdo the examination.  A thorough examination for the queen is unnecessary---if you see her, fine, but it is adequate if you just see eggs or young larvae.  That's just as good a method for knowing that the queen is there and that the swarm is developing according to expectations.  If you see eggs and brood, you may want to organize the frames with the brood in the center of the bottom box and leave frames for building or storage up above.
Keep in mind that swarms are the best of frame builders--fast and neat, without drone cells.  So if you have frames with foundation for drawing out, the best position for them is above the brood (at this stage of the game).

[Robin]

Thanks you once again. I just had a quick peak like you described efmesch. But despite the size and pollen going in I couldn't pick out any eggs and almost certain no larvae. There was however the beginnings of queen cells. They were located along the top and sides of one frame (4 to be exact and one in the centre of another. Should I expect another swarm or perhaps they are queen less?

[efmesch]

If the swarm has no queen, queen cells won't be of any help.  If you have a virgin queen (a slight possibility), she might not be ready to start laying, but the bees wouldn't be building queen cells.
Are you 100% certain that these are queen cells.  Bees often build queen cups, which are, for the most part, meaningless.  Sometimes, cells built in "borderline locations" can be irregularly sized and possibly be mistaken for queen cells.  Queen cells themselves, are usually not built alongside the woodwork of the frames but rather are encircled by other cells.
Your original description seemed to be a strong indication that you have a queen.  I would still venture to think in that direction and suggest waiting another two days before checking again.  Perhaps this particular swarm needs a little more time than usual to get itself organized.  If it really is a virgin queen, you'll need at least a week for her to start laying.

What are the thoughts of other forum members?   Please chime in.

[Robin]

Sorry, yes they were queen cups, not cells. I pried each them open to find nothing inside any of them either.