I have a few questions, and also would like reference
sources to pertaining to the questions if you have them.
I also have just what you wanted to hear,,,
'another swarm story' ;(
Question:
Will swarms in flight to a new home settle if they loose
track of the sun by clouding? I am seeing this happen,
and wonder if there is any related literature or early
references to this. I have timed my departure times
for collecting swarms based on the overcast conditions,
and it seems reliable, -swarms seem to stay put if
overcast conditions prevail.
Question:
Also, looking for reference to how many bees in
a US gallon, and weight?
Colonies in housing developments grow
quite large.
I caught a feral swarm that filled my bucket to
2 1/2 gallons.
Swarm Story
Today, I was placing fecundation in frames on
my outdoor work bench, and heard the unmistakable
sound of bees swarming. I looked above my shed
to see a swarm in the air and wondered how I
could miss a feral colony in a cherry tree only 50 yards
from my house. I ran and got my lure and tried to get
them to settle down low, but soon realized they weren't
swarming to bivouac, they were just passing thru, in
transit to a new home.
With the bright sun, and my not so good eyes, I could
barely make out the bees flying above the treetops,
but I could follow the sound easily. They were coming
from a direction of North West (from a previously known
beeline), towards a Southerly East direction. I got a fix on
their direction and quickly walked around a patch of woods
to head them off at about 300 yards away in a small
open area.
I waited, and soon heard the swarm approaching over
the treetops. The swarm began to hover in the open field
above my head. I believed they were heading towards a
vacant bee log that I had propped up against an oak tree.
The swarm actually flew pass the bee log by 30 feet
so it could descend to 12 feet, in an open area.
I observed that not a single bee landed at the bee
log until the entire swarm was safely leveled at 12 feet
high and outside the canopy of the oak tree. Then one bee,
and then another were first to arrive at the old vacant
bee log. Slowly the rest began to follow at a gradually
increasing pace.
Question:
Do all scouts return to the swarm before takeoff?
I could not detect more than a couple scouts present in the
moments prior to the swarm entering. This would seem
logical, because a swarm could loose 5% or more of
its most experienced foragers if they were left abandoned
out in the fields when the swarm breaks bivouac.
All the years beekeeping, I have never seen a 'natural
swarm' enter a void from the very start to finish. So I
watched the progression as bees landed, few at first,
then many.
Part of the swarm hanging at the bee log
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n237/FeralBeeProject/Trapping%20Feral%20Swarms/IMG_0120.jpg
I was intent on letting them hive themselves,
until I spotted the queen land on the log. She was
a nice example of the feral type I seek, having the
markings that I watch for in feral queens.
So I picked her up with my thumb and forefinger, and
walked with her 300 yards back to the truck to get a
queen cage. I caged her, and returned, tying the
cage to a low hanging branch on a nearby tree, so
some of the bees would bivouac on the branch
around her and tend her while I finish a box to hive
them in.
Bee log with bear fence and queen in cage.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n237/FeralBeeProject/Trapping%20Feral%20Swarms/IMG_0121.jpg
I placed the hive on the log and 'saw
the queen into the hive'
Hive on log
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n237/FeralBeeProject/Trapping%20Feral%20Swarms/IMG_0122.jpg
Thats my bee story for the day. It is fascinating how
the scouts safely guided the swarm the longer route,
which happened to be the safest route. And did
not move to the bee log until the swarm was gathered
in one spot.
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
SW Pennsylvania
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm
|
