JB<>From: Jane Beckman <[log in to unmask]>
  <>Date:         Thu, 23 Mar 1995 15:10:49 PST
  <>Subject:      Re: Hives in the city?
 
JB<>For those of us who rarely see such things, what distinguishes a mating
  <>flight from a swarm, visually?  (I've seen swarms, but never a mating
  <>flight that I know of...)  Well, yes, I know that it would be full of
  <>*drones,* but can I tell that from a ways away?
 
Hello Other Jane,
 
   Swarms go out looking to start a new colony. Virgin queens go out
looking to get mated. They do it several times over a few days if the
weather permits. The swarm fills the air with bees and moves off in a
disorganized mass. A queen with drones in pursuit is more like a
comet of bees with the object of the pursuit at the head. One way to
follow and find swarms, established bee hives, and find other
interesting things in the field is by listening for the subtle but
distinct sounds bees make while performing different tasks. The sounds
of bee's retuning over loaded with nectar and pollen is different from
the sounds of bees searching for food. The roar of a swarm is also
different from the sounds of drones advancing on a queen in flight.
 
Here is how I did it. I trained my hearing to the distinct sound
that drones make in mass flight, which is different from forging bee's
or swarming bee's. It may look ridiculous, other's have said that, but
were themselves pleasantly surprised when they later tried it. I cup my
ears with my hands and scan for the sounds of bees, or drones in flight.
 
   I found that one of my bee yards on the central California coast
(Monterey), by moving away from the bees on a gentle slop or rise of
maybe 100 ft within a hundred yards, I was able to find a area that I
could not only hear the drones but see the comets of drones and
individuals in the air. I have heard many times the "pop" the drone
makes when actually mating, and have seen and recovered several queens
who fell from the sky with the drone still attached.
 
   The secret to this is having queens who you know are going out to
mate. I kept about 100 queen nucs in this yard, so I had a pretty good
idea when they were going out to mate. I must admit I found the area
that I could watch the whole process one day when moving out into the
brush to commune with myself and nature so to speak. And do it in an
area I would not walk in it later.<G> I heard the distinct sounds the
drones make in flight, and looked forward not more then 20 feet with
my hands cupping my ears and there they were big as life.
 
   I was excited about the whole thing, and returned many times to
witness with nature a sight few see, a grown man wandering around in
the brush with his hands cupped to his ears being only one vision any
passerby would never forget.
 
   I know that there will be some who will say that bees do it on
the wing at a certain distance and height, but in real life I have
found with my bee's any rule of science is quickly disregarded by
the bee's in their own yard. I am sure this was a so called "drone
congestion" area. I kept 3 yards within a mile of each other with
a 100+ colonies in each, and only found this one area that I could
observe the aerial sexual combat of the drones. Yes, they did chase
any bird the entered their air space and would go after small rocks
I tossed into the air. I did find an area in a Santa Clara county cherry
orchard, now a IBM plant, that swarms would come from miles away to
cluster on the low limbs of the trees. Sure could use one of those
spots today.
                        ttul Andy-
 
 
 
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