> > >I have seen at least three A mellifera hives with an entrance at ground
> > level and the nest definitely below in one of those.
> 
> I've gotten many hundreds of swarm calls over several decades in my
> non-Africanized area.  Only one was in a water meter box. Yes, European
> stock may occasionally nest in small cavities underground, but this
> appears to be the exception rather than the norm.

I was not intending to suggest otherwise.  However when needs must, needs
must.  Any port in a storm etc..  In any case they did not evolve in either
of our countries.  I have seen them prosper (?) with no nest cavity at all
for some years.  In some animals the nest requirements are very specific
such that if they are not met then none of that species in that environment.
But bees seem to be able to put up with a remarkable variety of cavities or
indeed none at all.  The days of tree wash tubs and five buckets of honey
from feral hives seems to be over, or perhaps it was always in a parallel
universe. We find that nest boxes are regularly used and all the ones I have
ever attended in fallen trees are not much better than a decent nuc. In
Australia water would appear to be the major limiting factor.

> I find Pete's post about utilizing swarm trap size to sort AHB swarms from
> EHB swarms to be of great practical application.

I hope we never have to test it out here.

Geoff Manning

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