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Mon, 6 Jul 2015 23:08:31 -0500 |
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Many years ago when I started keeping bees I read in the Hive and the
Honeybee the figure that fewer than 50% of swarms are successful in the
wild. That seemed to give validity to hiving a swarm thereby giving it a
better chance of survival.
I do not recall there being a real definition of success, but I would
think surviving the first winter would be a good standard. I also don't
know how that survival statistic was dirived. It seems to be a difficult
statistic to measure.
Has any research been done on the survival rate of swarms that move into
the wild in the present varroa-altered world? Is there any literature
available on this? Are there any educated guesses?
On a bit of a tangent to this, I would think an untreated overwintered
colony would be highly likely to die in the upcoming season from the
effects varroa infestation. However, swarming would cause a break in the
brood cycle slowing the development of the varroa and enhancing the chances
of continued survival for the parent colony. The swarm would have the same
varroa-related advantage as they establish a new nest. After a century and
a half of trying to discourage swarming, is the tendency to swarm and swarm
often going to be the saving grace for honeybees in the wild? Any thoughts
on this logic?
I love hiving natural swarms, they almost alway build strong colonies and
have a nearly perfect survival rate for me that first winter.
Larry Krengel
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