Every year at Bee Camp we set up an artificial swarm so we can observe actual swarm behavior. This year we did a lot of things and one of those was to experiment with drumming them into the box. We dumped a package out on a sheet and tied the queen in the tree. We waited for a swarm to form around the queen. Then with some of the bees still on the sheet we added a box to the sheet. A few bees showed some interest, but whenever we would drum (tap tap tap) on the bottom board of the hive, many would start marching towards the hive. If we stopped some would continue but many would stop. If we restarted the drumming they would march to the hive and then into it. It was a lot of fun to play with a swarm. You can set this up with either a shaken swarm (from a strong hive) or a package. It's a great thing to do with your bee club. Of course you can play with a real swarm, but there is always the risk they will take off for places unknown. Another thing about an artificial swarm--everyone wants to touch the bees...
I saw this frenzy going on and turned the cover over to block the entrance. They were doing this same thing before I blocked it. They would pile up until they would fall in clumps. I slowed it down to try to see it better.
I consider propolizing a good trait for bees (maybe not for the beekeeper). Here is a mating nuc I found this year. The drilled hole is about 5/8". The reduced hole is about 5/16".
It wasn't working right and then it would and then it wouldn't. This is what I found. It couldn't get out, so I left it and used another smoker. It was finally out after two days.
We needed to feed because of a dearth and we still needed to finish building up the 8 frame nucs for winter. We bought 50 six gallon buckets and bought 3,450 pounds of sugar in 25 lb bags. We worked out the maximum strength we could do with hot water from my tap (140 F) and not have it crystallize out. We put one 25 pound bag in each bucket with a heaping tablespoon of ascorbic acid, then 18 pints of water and stir it with a five gallon paint stirrer. After 10 to 30 minutes we stir it again.
