Guilfordbeekeepers.org

At around 5:00p.m. today bees were in the air in a swarm type flight, banging into walls and windows (unlike during orientation flights). Only one of my hives was showing some increased activity, but not bees pouring out of it. The airborne bees were agitated (my fat upper lip is evidence of this) and never did organize or clump together anywhere. There were not enough in the air to appear to be a primary swarm. The bees then began entering another hive and gathering on the side of that hive. I did not see fighting in the front, but there are now about 50-60 dead bees out front of that hive. There are about another 100 bees clumped under another of the hives.

If a small swarm decides to "move in" with an established hive, will they generally be accepted (because of arrival with full bellies)? Has anyone read anything about this or does anyone know about this? If the bees originated with one of my hives and decided to return, wouldn't they return to the original hive?

I'll admit that I am baffled and would like some explanation/ideas about what was going on.

I would call Don Hopkins. If you were anywhere on the Gulf Coast, I would say AHB just usurped your hive. Ask Don to come take a look and maybe get a sample.

I really don't think they took over the hive. It was a relatively small number of bees and all appears normal at the front of all hives now. It is more like the small swarm that wound up under one of my hives last year except this years did not just start dropping dead a few minutes after landing.

I wonder if this was someone's secondary swarm that did not find a good location and out of desperation tried to take up with one of my hives.