Oct swarm

[skatesailor]

Reduced my hives down and set up for winter a couple of weeks ago. Everything looked good and settled. I was cleaning up the barnyard for a nice winter's nap today with winds gusting to 20 mph. Next thing I knew I was in a cloud of bees that were having a tough time holding the swarm together. Eventually a large softball sized swarm settled and was hived. I probably will do a pinch and combine this week but was wondering if anybody else has had this late of a swarm or an explanation. Goldenrod has been dead for about 2 weeks here.

[AllenF]

Make sure you do not have an empty hive somewhere. 

[skatesailor]

Checked all my hives and didn't see any abnormal behavior.  That sized swarm wouldn't be so evident in a full hive so I probably missed it. In 50+ yrs of beekeeping though I never had this happen.

[AllenF]

Swarm in July, let them fly.   What is a swarm in October worth?

[bailey]

down here i have gotten swarms in november.  i hive them and feed them.  they do good down here but our winters are very mild.
bailey

[10framer]

supersedure queen went on mating flight and a handful of workers got confused.  we called the "pop up" swarms way back when. 

[Maryland Beekeeper]

Very interesting that you have experienced the latest swarm in 50 yrs. Glad you shared that news.
Cheers,
Drew