First swarm into foundationless hive.

[melliphile]

Greetings to all.
    This weekend I hived a swarm in my first attempt to start a foundationless hive. I used one partially drawn frame just to give them somewhere to cluster. I put a hive top feeder with about a quart and a half of sugar water to encourage them to set up shop. I reduced the entrance to discourage absconding or robbing.  Other than that , I used two mediums with brand new foundationless frames (save for the drawn frame aforementioned).
     I just recieved a call from the property owner and it sounds like the bees are getting ready to leave.  My question is this; should I have put more drawn comb in the hive to keep them there? Maybe a frame of brood from another hive? Did I do something wrong?

[harvey]

sounds like you did right!  Maybe the bee's are just trying to orientate to the new home?   I think unless it was a really big swarm I would have only put out one box though till it was drawn.  I have never used mediums for brood though?

[melliphile]

After a long day of work and then checking out a bee tree in the city this afternoon, I didn't have the wherewithal to make it out to the beeyard. I'll check tomorrow a.m. and see if they are still there.

[Michael Bush]

You can never tell with a swarm.  Certainly one drawn comb has an attraction to them as does a frame of brood...

[melliphile]

Despite the rain and chill and I just had to check them today, and it appears fine. Nobody flying from any of the hives in the yard, and a single guard bee checked me out at the entrance of the aforementioned swarm. I took off the lid to see them at the window of the hive top feeder, so it appears that they have taken up residence.
 Thank you for your input.