Just after I wrote that last post, Lisa called me outside. The bees all came out of the hive in a cloud. They flew all around the front yard and started to gather on a tree branch. I made some preparations - I taped a bucket to a pole, and put our empty hive on the stand next to hive one. I called the pwrb swarm hotline and talked to David but when I went back outside, they were gone from the front yard! They had flown back to the hive again. I took out the entrance reducer and they all went back in.
David said they may have swarmed with a virgin queen and abandoned her, or maybe they left and the queen didn't go. He said up to 20% of hives have two queens, so maybe they followed her back in.
David also said, You usually need two buckets for a swarm. Put the lid on and put it in a cool dark place. It needs some ventilation so its best to have a bucket prepared with screen windows. If you don't take them at least five miles away they will probably notice the scenery hasn't changed and swarm again. I wonder if Mike Bush's trick of stuffing the entrance with grass would work.
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