>
> >But, bees sometimes swarm in late summer, which is usually suicide in a
> cold climate.


Unless those swarms usurp an established colony.  Evolutionarily, it would
be highly advantageous, since a suicide squad of an aging queen and a small
number of protective workers could take over an established colony already
possessing winter stores, and thus pass their genetics to the next
generation.

The observed occurrence of a September peak in swarming, Wyatt Mangum's
observations, plus my own observations over the years in Calif, all appear
to me to support my hypothesis that late-season usurpation swarming is not
only an Africanized bee trait, but an established trait of the North
American population of European bees.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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