swarm-list Mailing List: Re: Are you noticing anything out of the ordinary with this year's roll-out?

[Sverre Slotfeldt (slotfeldt]

Nice of you, Sung. 

Jerry (and everyone), I hear you about all of us doing better on inspections. Mea Culpa, in the past. These days, I'm monitoring my hives constantly.

However, although you're absolutely right, I'm reminded about the saying that swarms are bad for beekeepers, not for the bees.

Some of the swarms that escape us make it into the wild, where they get established and become local feral survivor stock.

And in big picture thinking, that's a good thing!

I'm not saying that we hobby beekeepers should not be vigilant in swarm management. I'm just pointing out that even when we screw up,

the bees are sorting it out for the benefit of everyone. 

However, to be crystal clear, I echo your call for us beekeepers to proactively manage our hives during swarm season!

As a new swarm chaser, I want to use this opportunity to thank those of you who handle the calls and the list. You're volunteering, and with the recent

increase in volume of calls, it might have been more than you felt you signed up for. So all of you deserve recognition for doing this for the bees and for 

The Beekeeping Hobby. And you don't even get the benefit of keeping a swarm. So thank you every one of you. I should mention you all by name, but

I'm afraid I'd leave someone out. But you guys know who you are.

Finally, it feels great to participate. I'm mostly motivated by my wish to expand my apiary, and I just love swarms. But although we swarm chasers are perhaps not as altruistic

as the coordinators, we're still contributing in a significant way. I won't give such warm thanks to my fellow swarm chasers, 

but I will at least give you a nod or recognition and respect, how's that? 😄

Have great day, everyone, and here's to another productive swarm season!

Sverre

On Tue, Apr 22, 2025 at 9:15 AM Sung Lee via swarm-list <swarm-list [at] alamedabees.org> wrote:

Call me

I have Virgin Queens. 

5104143216

Sung Lee The Bee Charmer 

On Tue, Apr 22, 2025, 8:44 AM Bo Droga via swarm-list <swarm-list [at] alamedabees.org> wrote:

Hi Jerry,

I was wondering if you might be able to share a message with the Alameda Bee Association. Sadly, my queen bee has passed, and the hive is now without her. If anyone happens to have a virgin queen they could kindly spare or donate, it would mean a great deal.

I’m doing my best to help this little colony through a tough time, and any support would be deeply appreciated. Thank you for your support .

Cheers

Bo

On Monday, March 24, 2025, 2:18 PM, Gerald Przybylski via swarm-list <swarm-list [at] alamedabees.org> wrote:

The graph's horizontal axis is truncated at April 2, and shows the roll-out of swarm calls since 2017.

By about a week, this is the earliest Swarm year ever in spite of the cold, rainy weather we had, and the roughly normal rainfall.

2023 had the highest end-of-the-season total of around 450 swarm calls.  That was a wet year.

If you set out swarm traps, and some of these swarms move in,  it'll perhaps lighten the load on the swarm-chasers
who I fear may get burned out,   and tired of seeing their phone explode.

If you're thinking of getting bees, please help us get these swarms placed.
If you haven't inspected, please do.  You may be able to head off some swarming by opening up space in the brood boxes.
There's abundant pollen now, so pollen frames will be ignored, so you can take them out or move them up into the honey supers.

Please, let's try to not contribute to the swarm problem by managing our hives, and splitting them.  :-)

Pardon the ranting!

Cheers,
jerry

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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
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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:
<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/>.

--

Sverre Slotfeldt

Bay Area Bookkeeping Solutions

(510) 626-0621 

www.bayareabookkepingsolutions.com