In a message dated 5/5/98 11:49:22 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:
 
<< My theory is that destroying all the queen cells left the swarmy hive with
 only the one young queen that departed with the second swarm. Once they
 were gone, the hive was queenless. Somehow, this fact was recognized by the
 second swarm, which then went back home.
 
 The question I have is: How did the second swarm figure this out? And why,
 once they'd left the hive in a swarm, did they prefer their old home to the
 nice new one I had provided? >>
 
   It may not be that complicated. Swarms frequently return to the hive all on
their own. I had one do this a couple days ago. They were clustered on the
ground, and I gave them a hive to waltz into. Instead they returned to the
parent hive. I fully expected them to swarm again, so I went into the parent
hive and split it. They had about a dozen swarm cells, all chewed (ready to
hatch), but none open.
 
[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
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