On March 14th Allen Dick asked:

>Have any observations been made as to which direction swarms normally move from
>their hives in comparison to the normal winds in an area, or the time of day
>that the swarms move, seeing as [how] winds often shift predictably with
>the >time of day?

   To the best of my knowledge, no one has conducted such studies --- but
they should be done, and soon.  The only substantive work on wind direction
and honey bee orientation I know of was that by Larry Friesen, published in
1973.  That is the work I summarized in the Oct, Nov, & Dec 1998 issues of
the American Bee Journal.

   Justin Schmidt (USDA-ARS Bee Lab in Tucson AZ) has conducted some
interesting experiments on the role of artificial Nasanov gland pheromone
in attractiveness of swarm hives (decoy hives, swarm traps).  Perhaps he
has some information on wind direction and swarm movement.

                                                Adrian

Adrian M. Wenner                    (805) 963-8508 (home phone)
967 Garcia Road                     (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106

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*
*  "When we meet a fact which contradicts a prevailing theory,
*     we must accept that fact and abandon the theory, even when
*     the theory is supported by great names and generally
*     accepted."
*
*                                       Claude Bernard --- 1865
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