Bob wrote, on 16 June, in response to "chemical control of varroa,"

FERAL SWARMS???


Most swarms people are catching are coming from swarms from managed
colonies. The only swarm calls I get are in the area of one of my yards and
has been the case for many years.



I suspect there are other beekeepers in Yoon's area or the swarms may be
coming from his own bee hives.




I'd like to challenge your notion that swarms are coming from managed hives, and not feral colonies.

For the last five years, I've been trapping what I believe are feral swarms.  I also know of long-term, established feral colonies living year after year in the same old trees, brick apartment buildings, and old homes without the aid of beekeeper intervention or interference.

Having caught swarms in these areas using pheromone baited swarm traps, I cannot prove these swarms come from these suspected feral colonies.  To the best of my knowledge there are no managed hives nearby or in anyone's backyard.

Having hived several swarms successfully (not all of them are viable) I've had increasing numbers of hived swarms that show no visible varroa infestations using sticky boards and using my capping scratcher on the drone brood cells.  Two of such colonies caught as feral swarms are now four years old (with superseded queens) and I have not treated them with any chemical miticides.  Having learned more about IPM techniques to monitor mite levels, I'm pursuing closer approaches to see if this is something that will last more than season.  The next step then is to raise queens from these colonies.

And my yards do have varroa in some colonies, monitored by sticky boards and drone cells.  Having tried the so-called "natural" approach, I've balked at using Apistan.  Some of my colonies have succumb to PMS and died out in the winter.  These colonies that died were purchased as nucs and packages from well regarded commercial producers, and some of my hived swarms died as untreated colonies.

Do feral colonies exist and are these swarms genetically disposed to mite resistance?  I think so, but more testing will be needed to confirm this suspicion.   And can these swarms coexist in a yard that has known varroa infestations and a tolerance to my management approaches (including my incompetence)?  Time will tell.

Thus far this year, I've caught, trapped and retrieved 30 swarms in the Jackson (Missouri) and Cape Girardeau areas.  The last dozen swarms have been pretty small, but the early swarms are out producing the packages I purchased earlier this spring.



Grant

Jackson, MO







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