swarm-list Mailing List: Re: Do your bit, pretty please!

[Gerald Przybylski (gtp000000]

    Charles, my opinion differs with yours based on 8 years of answering
    swarm hotline calls
    during which the volunteers have logged over 2700 swarm calls.  
    A few times a year I hear from the caller that there's a beekeeper
    next door or down the street. 
    I suspect a majority of swarms are not spotted and reported to
    anyone.  
    Many that are spotted are watched until they move on by themself. 
    Some are probably killed off by uninformed scared people.
    
    The swarm line gets a couple hundred Extraction calls every year. 
    Some of those had produced swarms. 
    
    The swarm line gets bee-tree calls too.  Those bee tree colonies
    persist and produce swarms. 
    Besides natural habitat, bee colonies live in abandoned structures,
    sheds, barns, between double-wall fences, in BART roadway beams, 
    ignored cabinets, utility poles, vaults, abandoned
    tanks/water-heaters/barrels, you name it.  
    
    No, Charles, I disagree on the origin of swarms.
    
    Beekeepers can do their part by managing so their colonies don't
    produce swarms. Splitting, and brood box manipulations can do most
    of it. 
    Split hives can swarm if not managed well.   We should avoid
    producing drama for our neighborhoods by doing our job. 
    That we do agree on. 
    
    Planning a vacation?  If there is ANY chance of your colony swarming
    while away, SPLIT it before you leave.  i.e. Vacation Split. 
    Tell your beekeeper friends to keep that in mind. 
    
    that's my 2¢

On 4/15/25 12:41 PM, CHARLES CARLSON via swarm-list wrote:

Hi Paula,

I think that’s a really good and strong admonition.  My (maybe simple guess) would be that about 99% of bee swarms come from beekeeping activities.  Casual observations suggests feral hives are a relatively rare occurrence in our area.  I know of exactly one (and I’m not claiming any special knowledge about them).  There are undoubtedly more, however, bottom line, I’ll guarantee the more beekeepers the more swarms.

We need better education.  As I was learning to be a beekeeper, swarming behavior was frequently pitched as that event which occurred occasionally that honey collecting and pollen collection were the things bees were interested in. In truth, everything that bees do is in fact directed at getting ready to swarm and swarming, that’s what bees do, and it’s impossible to control their behavior without direct intervention and almost constant surveillance in the months from February to August in the Bay Area. Your booming hive today is tomorrow’s swarm.

Charles

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On Apr 15, 2025, at 11:13 AM, Sarah Palmer via swarm-list <swarm-list [at] alamedabees.org> wrote:



I already have a swarm but I do have another empty hive hanging around so if anyone needs to house a captured swarm, I can accept them. I have a large yard.

Sarah Palmer

palmerdive [at] gmail.com

Le dim. 13 avr. 2025 à 18:08, Paula Breen via swarm-list <swarm-list [at] alamedabees.org> a écrit :

Even if you don't want any more bees, if you're keeping these in the East Bay then you really should collect a swarm or two. It benefits everyone if we all contribute to collecting these swarms. It seems pretty early in the season to have so little interest in the swarm postings. Do it for your neighbors. Do it for people you've never met. Do it before somebody goes to town hall and starts agitating to ban bees in urban areas.  

This is a community. Let's all contribute! Intimidated? Reach out. Plenty of us are happy to coach or even meet you there. But the same 10 people cannot manage this volume of swarms. Let's GO!

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Safety first! No swarm is worth risking injury to self, or host.
Make sure you're familiar with the swarm catching guidelines at
<https://www.alamedabees.org/swarm-catching-guidelines/>.

To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options, to learn how
to filter these messages, or to view the archives, see:
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