Walked out into yard the other day, huge swarm flying everywhere. (Spectacular!) Eventually they settled on a nearby tree in two very distinct clumps. A week later they are still there. I was told I could put both clumps in one box and let the queens battle it out.
I had my new horizontal hive ready so I did that, put both clumps in together. They again formed two very distinct clumps, one on each side of the hive.
Given that the swarm came from the same hive…can I assume I have two queens and that they really don’t want to fight?
The hive is big enough for two colonies. It would be third and fourth colony for me and I DONT want any more! I’m just a backyard hobbyist. I’ve already got more than I had intended when I started only last year.
One more question… I had a look inside my established hives and there is NO brood whatsoever. Lots of honey and lots of bees, many of which look like youngsters, and a fair amount of drones. Could not see any queens, and destroyed all but one closed QC. (And there were lots of open QC.)
How long do I wait (both hives swarmed at about the same time ) to start seeing brood and eggs? How long do I have before buying a queen in if I don’t see eggs and brood?
It’s like living in a National Geographic film!