Peter wrote:
I wonder if folks in the Southern USA have observed this
takeover by African Bees? I talked to a beekeeper who
trucks bees back and forth between FL and NY who
acknowledged that they "get in" to managed hives.

Reply:
I have never seen anything new. In all the years we have
kept bees commerciallly, seeing small after swarms go into
queenless colonies is nothing new. It is also said that
queenless colonies made that way by migratory movement
average 10% on many moves and has been written about in
various journals over the years. Or just could be a large
colony temporaryily queenless following swarming, or could
be large apiary worked by beekeepers, and certain amount
queenless by accidental manipulation.

So is this takeover by so-called African bees or just
surplus swarms looking for a natural home and finding one?
Or even just a plain old swarm...

Even CC Miller was writing way back in 1915 "Very
frequently she comes out the back end of the hive or at the
side, when the hive is raised on blocks" "It may happen,
sometimes, that a swarm may go into a hive whose colonoy
has swarmed a little while before, and where it is always
peacefully received. I do not like this doubling up, but I
do not know that I lose any thing by it..."

Concerning after swarming by CC Miller (those litttle
swarms by the way)"Neither were they as methodical as prime
swarms about returning to their own hives. Almost any hive
seemed to suit them providing there was a good deal of
noise at the entrance, and when swarming got well underway
for the day there were plenty of swarms with noise at the
entrance."

So this tells me that swarms normally and for many decades
have been observed going into colonies ........needing a
new queen. See nothing wrong with that. Saves us a lot of
work. Also still have never seen our colonies get bad to
manage either in all these years. So much for takeovers, or
is it new wording for old habits?

Respectfully submitted,

Dee A. Lusby
Small Cell Commercial Beekeeper
Moyza, Arizona
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organicbeekeepers/





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