I haven’t been on in a while but wanted to share something. My first swarm capture. I’ve done a couple of trap outs and a cutout, but tonight an hour before dark, a realtor friend called and said she had a swarm hanging from the bottom of a chair that sits in her garden, I got there with just enough sun to see and arrived with a 6 frame cardboard nuc box with mixed sized frames (it’s all I had) and a honey filled frame. You couldn’t have prayed for an easier swarm capture. I slid the box under the chair (the top of the hive just brushing the bees at hanging height), I tilted the chair back and swept the whole lot in. The queen must be in there because they all went down in between the frames. Only one sting through the glove. Wish I’d taken a picture but there wasn’t time. Hope they establish. I’m leaving them for a couple of days just in case. I’m doing the bee dance.
Dusty,
Know how you feel ! Good to get them girls captured n in a box ! My flow-hive “Maple Hive” was a swarm ! It’s done well over the last two seasons.
Keep it up !
Gerald
Thanks brother. Now, if they’ll only stay. LOL
Dusty,
I’ve never had much problem with keeping swarms if I got the Queen. If it’s a new box I rub old bee wax inside on the hive walls n maybe a lite touch of lemon grass but too much is not good either.
If I have a drawn frame or partial I pop one or so in too. Guess I’ve been lucky 
!
Take care… need to get some shut-eye here. It’s 21:45 local Seattle/Pacific Standard time n rainy wet outside…
Cheers 
,
Gerald
I caught my first swarm in a trap a few weeks back. I have 10 traps set around the farm and it was the one I thought least likely that they moved into. It was to small (a 5 frame nuc) the entrance was to big (full width 1/2" high) and I forgot to bait it with LGO.
The bees still thought it was the best option they had available, I had frames with starter strips in it so left them alone until I saw pollen coming in then moved them to the location I wanted.
They are doing well 3 frames fully drawn and working on another 2. when I looked yesterday.
I was keen to get another trap set in the same location, took me 4 day to get one back there. Before I could secure it in place I already had a few bees entering. It could be foragers that spent the night I moved the hive outside so didn’t get moved but I didnt see any bees hanging around the location before I started to place the trap and they appeared much darker than those I trapped
It was 3 days ago day so I will have a look tomorrow.
220, Funny how we believe that we have everything figured out about bee’s or about nature in general and then the opposite occurs. There’s more going on in a bee’s DNA and instinct than I guess we could ever imagine. We just go with best case scenario’s and thankfully sometimes it works out in both ours and the bee’s favor which I chalk up to a combination of hard work and the blessings of God. Man, I sure am happy for you and hope the same for me with with this swarm. Let us know how it all turns by the end of Spring would you? Thanks for sharing your experience- it gives us all hope.
They almost always stay- unless they are too big for the box u put them in. If the swarm was very large u might want to transfer them to a bigger box.
Catching swarms is great fun!