>>In Joe's case, I am not clear what the issue is. He states that there is a separate distinct feral population that can be readily distinguished from run-of-the-mill commercial stock but he doesn't say how, other than that they are not in hives.
I do not recall saying that.
I did say that feral bees which perform well
for me, and which appear to have become the
dominate strain (in the feral population in my
area), tend to have similar characteristics.
>>We all know bees swarm and take to the woods.
I do have historical accounts of bees taking to
the city and gardens, but thats for another list. ;)
>>How would we distinguish between a swarm that escaped from a kept hive and one that came from a colony that had been living in a tree? What are the distinguishing features?
The distinguishing feature is when the
homeowner points out a bee tree or
colony in the house.
If one arrives at a swarm early, the
queen can be removed and placed
in the glove box, and soon an airy trail
appears leading back to the mother colony.
Yesterday, I traveled quite a few miles for
bee removal in a place called Crabtree, and
then a quick detour to Lartobe to shake a swarm.
Each instance, I was made aware of the location
of the mother colony by the homeowner, and it
did not look like a domestic beehive where
one might easily obtain honey, unless you
were a roofer or tree climber.
IMO, you need to travel the region collecting
swarms and cutouts to get a picture in your
mind of what is going on. One perhaps, cant
get the full picture from shaking a swarm off
a hawthorn tree on the Campus grounds.
One needs to travel to many locations, and
see that many swarms in bivouac are not coming
from migratory bee trucks traveling the PA
turnpike, or domestic hives.
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
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