Yesterday mid morning my strong hive that has only had it super on for three weeks decided to swarm leaving flow frames that are only 30% capped there was no sign that the hive was ready to swarm. Two questions.
Thanks in advance
Ambrose
Hi Ambrose, I’m really sorry to hear this. So that our forum members can correctly advise you, did they swarm or abscond? (It sounds as though they may have absconded, i.e. all bees and the queen left the hive). I’m sure you’ll receive some great tips here either way from this helpful community of very experienced beekeepers 
swarm as there is half left in the brood box it has been raining for yesterday and the temp has not been good to get in and look to see whats going on i’m hoping the weather warms up in the next couple of days so I can get in there and check.
Good to know - thanks for confirming - hope the inspection goes well 
Bee keeping is very depending on your climate so I looked for your location on your profile and it is totally blank. So not knowing even if your coming out of a southern hemisphere Winter into Spring or a Northern hemisphere Summer into the Autumn(fall) it is impossible to give accurate advice.
Live in Western Australia a town called Geraldton we are still in winter days have been cool and the mostly rain on and off for the past few weeks
I’m on the Sunshine Coast in Qld so possibly a similar climate, I leave my Flow Supers on all of the year here. A bit early to have swarming but it sounds like that is what happened to your hive. Chances are the remaining bees have already began making a new queen so at this stage I wouldn’t go buying a queen. Wait for 4 weeks after the swarming and with a little luck and you do an inspection you will find new larvae in the brood frames. That said I’m already doing splits to reduce swarming with days here up to 27c already.
Do you have just the one hive? or do you have another that you can take a frame of eggs from to donate if they fail to make a queen?
Cheers
I have two others however the are new Nuc’s
I wouldn’t take a frame of eggs from a nuc but it is an option although the nuc will suffer to a larger extent than a strong colony. If the hive fails to produce a new queen then the option is to buy a queen and introduce her to the hive for a quicker result or if you know a local bee keeper you could buy a frame of eggs and put it into the brood box. It takes about 4 weeks from the egg stage to a mated queen laying.
Cheers
Thanks for your help Peter
