swarm-list Mailing List: Re: Fall swarms

[tigerbright71 (tigerbright71]

Hi Jerry, thanks for the reminder. 

I trained with the awesome Jennifer Radke, so I am aware of the swarm “seasonality”… the last fall swarm I got was indeed full of mites but the queen was laying well and got accepted by one if my hives. So I’m hoping for another successful catch for me and another happy customer for ACBA.

On Sep 21, 2024, at 1:59 PM, Gerald Przybylski via swarm-list <swarm-list [at] alamedabees.org> wrote:

 The season for REPRODUCTIVE swarms is long past. 
Swarms we see now might be bees absconding from an impossible situation
due to ants
or disease
or something happened to their habitat.
(the last stage of a PMS dead-out is that the queen and a cup or two full of workers abscond)

So if you collect a fall swarm it's obvious that it will need to be put on drawn comb and fed, AND watched over for health issues.

That's my 2¢

In temperate climates, late season swarms, even if they are healthy reproductive swarms,
are up against a fall dearth, and oncoming winter. 
In the wild they won't be able to make much comb, nor will they be able to store enough food for winter.
Perhaps an altruistic behavior where it reduces the parent hive population and promotes a new queen
for the parent hive to set them up to survive winter.  The swarm and the worn-out queen tank.
Just a thought.  (or maybe I read something like that.)

That early vs late swarm adage applies to temperate climates.

On 9/21/24 1:10 PM, Nha Toi via swarm-list wrote:

Anyone needing free bees?  Or a queen for a failing hive?  This may be one of the last few swarms of the season.

It's Saturday so hopefully someone will make a claim.

On Sat, Sep 21, 2024 at 12:57 PM Nha Toi <2nha.toi [at] gmail.com> wrote:

About waist level, approx mini watermelon. 

Please include your phone number when claiming.

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