Aloha, all, Francis here from Kapolei Hawaii. I found a swarm one week ago in the back of my 3 acre property and the comb measured one foot wide by 4 feet tall and 4 inches deep. A call to Dadant and I got the #2 starter kit on Friday and have moved in the girls to their new home. I educated myself enough to do this by Youtube videos and forums like this, thanks. Anyway I have a concern or two that maybe you can advise:
1: I assembled my hive with first super of 10 frames and put an empty super on top. I then scraped off the comb and basically put all of it in the empty super and left the top lid cracked open 1/2 inch for 3 hours. Then I closed up the hive as it was getting night time. The next day I noticed they were using the regular opening and coming and going like normal. The comb in the empty super is becoming less populated and I will check the frames to see if the girls are accepting it this evening. DID I DO THIS RIGHT?
But, there is a cluster (about 6"x8"x 5 bees deep at the old comb site (10 feet away) that those bees will NOT abandon. WHY? (I think I have included a photo below of the old site)
thanks
Francis