Colony 17 arrives

I was called by Mary, a member of my group. She had caught a swarm from her top-bar hive in Headington. She kindly offered me the swarm, knowing how much I value untreated colonies.

The swarm is from a colony which Mary has kept, untreated, for about 2 years in a Top Bar Hive. Before that they came from a feral swarm somewhere near Steeple Aston in Oxfordshire.

I took the swarm down to central Oxford in the early morning and walked them in. They went in very willingly. The swarm was a reasonable size. I didn't see the Queen going in.

They seemed agitated in their box. Every movement causing them to buzz loudly. This might be a sign that they are not Queen-right (ie they have lost their Queen). A knock on the hive wall is the usual way to test whether they have their Queen. They'll buzz but calm down quickly if they do have a queen. I think that they'll need to be left for at least a week before I do that test.