In a message dated 5/14/99 12:26:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Is there any evidence to indicate that bees scout for a new site prior to
>  swarming or is the scouting all done from the swarm when it is clustered on
>  the tree branch.
>  Today I had one get by me and I set out a bait hive with old comb and a
>  pheremone capsule.
>  Also do the bees show a preference for cedar trees as I find may swarms
here
>  in CT to be in the top 1/4 of cedar trees.

    I think they do some ahead of time.  I have seen swarms issue and
immediately go into a stack of supers.  I don't know about the cedar trees. I
suspect it has more to do with a convenient resting spot for the queen.
Wherever she lands, the swarm will pitch.

    I noticed swarm scouts looking over the equipment in front of the
honeyhouse this morning. This afternoon a swarm moved into a stack.  Gotta
love those freebies!  Especially since it didn't come from one of my
hives.......

    I caught a swarm very early this season in an area where no bees have
been kept for about ten years. I had a bee yard in that neighborhood, but
they were vandalized and I gave up that spot. I'm sure I would know about it
if anyone else had a hive.

    At any rate the swarm was small, and I did nothing at all to feed or
encourage it. It is now what I call a "buster."  I spent awhile the other day
looking for varroa mites, and did not find a single one, though they have not
been treated.  Here's hoping.......!  The only drawback so far is that they
are quite sassy.

[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
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