Layne said:
>Here is another perspective:  a package of bees from Weaver Apiaries in
Navasota (30 >miles down the road) costs about $50 plus gas and time to pick
it up (or shipping).  A >swarm of bees is "free" but can be worth the $50
(plus gas, time, etc

I agree that some swarms are well worth collecting, but if you took the
total cost of all callouts, i.e. good swarms, small swarms, those that
depart before you arrive, those that abscond after hiving, those that are
out of reach (despite assurances that they can be reached easily), those
that are not swarms at all (bumble bees, solitary bees, large number of bees
working a good nectar source such as cotoneaster), then I suspect that there
is little profit left.

There is one additional cost: during the swarming season your own bees will
need the maximum attention - there is little point in spending time
collecting someone else's swarms only to lose your own!

Peter Edwards
[log in to unmask]
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/

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