On Fri, 11 Nov 1994, ADC Administor wrote:
 
> Does this mean that they did not orientate themselves properly on the
> tree? or they found their new home more confortable/suitable? or
> something else perhaps.
 
The rules that are commonly given for bees ability to locate their own
nests and to navigate are useful oversimplifications, designed to keep
beginners out of trouble.
 
There is even debate about the bees use of dance language to communicate.
Bees show considerable variability in their ability to deal with problems
presented by moving of hives, nectar sources, and obstacles.  Greenhouses
are an interesting example, as are your observations of the swarms. We
routinely present bees with problems that they probably seldom, if ever
encountered in their long history before they encountered homo sapiens(?).
 
There are also (inconclusive) comments on this subject in the logs for
September and/or October (I believe) under the observation hive thread.
If interested, send a message to [log in to unmask] with only the
command GET BEE-L LOG9409 in the body.  Use 9410 for October, 9408 for
August etc.  You will receive a text file in your mail within a few hours
that includes all discussion for the month in question. You can search
it with your word processor for key words of interest, or just read the
whole thing.
 
Bees have complex navigation equipment and seem to operate in different
'modes' at different times.  The behavior during an intense honey flow is
very different in many ways from the behavior of bees disturbed in winter
cluster.  Swarming presents a special case too.
 
> PS:  The reason why she did not inform me of the swarms previously, is
>      because where she comes from, Vietnam, they believe that when a
>      swarm comes onto their property it's a sign of good luck. :-))
 
This is a belief that I wouldn't mind seeing adopted locally :)
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                      VE6CFK
Rural Route One, Swalwell,  Alberta  Canada  T0M 1Y0
Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588      Email: [log in to unmask]