On Fri, 11 Nov 1994, ADC Administor wrote: > Does this mean that they did not orientate themselves properly on the > tree? or they found their new home more confortable/suitable? or > something else perhaps. The rules that are commonly given for bees ability to locate their own nests and to navigate are useful oversimplifications, designed to keep beginners out of trouble. There is even debate about the bees use of dance language to communicate. Bees show considerable variability in their ability to deal with problems presented by moving of hives, nectar sources, and obstacles. Greenhouses are an interesting example, as are your observations of the swarms. We routinely present bees with problems that they probably seldom, if ever encountered in their long history before they encountered homo sapiens(?). There are also (inconclusive) comments on this subject in the logs for September and/or October (I believe) under the observation hive thread. If interested, send a message to [log in to unmask] with only the command GET BEE-L LOG9409 in the body. Use 9410 for October, 9408 for August etc. You will receive a text file in your mail within a few hours that includes all discussion for the month in question. You can search it with your word processor for key words of interest, or just read the whole thing. Bees have complex navigation equipment and seem to operate in different 'modes' at different times. The behavior during an intense honey flow is very different in many ways from the behavior of bees disturbed in winter cluster. Swarming presents a special case too. > PS: The reason why she did not inform me of the swarms previously, is > because where she comes from, Vietnam, they believe that when a > swarm comes onto their property it's a sign of good luck. :-)) This is a belief that I wouldn't mind seeing adopted locally :) W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588 Email: [log in to unmask]