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
Sent from Charlie Carlson's iPad
Try me on Skype (510) 984-3543
Cell 510-499-8086
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
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!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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:
<https://www.alamedabees.org/swarm-list-tips/>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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:
<https://www.alamedabees.org/swarm-list-tips/>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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:
<https://www.alamedabees.org/swarm-list-tips/>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------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 howto filter these messages, or to view the archives, see:<https://www.alamedabees.org/swarm-list-tips/>.
gmail.com)