I did not get any replies to my questions about two-queen hive configurations. I have to assume that all the experienced beekeepers are busy working their bees at this time. :))
I was called to perform a colony removal from a house. The nest was in a hot part of the roof and it appeared the combs collapsed with the previous 24 hours and the queen with the bees absconded. There were 3 combs of live sealed/open brood and eggs. And 2 outer combs partly filled with honey and pollen. Only 10 bees were accounted for. I have not had a case where adult bees would leave brood behind. This was a first for me.
Anybody know if abscondig bees form a swarm to look for nest sites or do they leave the old site to go straight to a pre-determined new nest site?
Waldemar
Long Island, NY
PS> I have been unbelievably busy with swarm and removal calls in the last two weeks. We had a mild winter and a lot of feral and managed colonies must have come out of it strong to swarm.
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