Late year swarms

Swarming during a darth of nectar is not exactly a survival trait, only 20 lb of sealed honey, and only two deep frames of brood, I am almost inclined to say they absconded but for the queen cells. What kind of fall flow do you normally get and are you actually going to get is, considering the weather? 12 queen cells seems abnormal even for swarming colonies durning a major honey flow let alone durnig a lack of resourcesI personally have never seen more then a half a dozen swarm cells always on the central frames. Doesn't make sense execpt for to the bees.
Barry

 

Nature must have a reason, even if it isn't apparent to us humans. Perhaps the plan is to get a second hive set up and be ready when the fall flow hits. Perhaps it is a way to reduce the population of a hive whose stores could not support them through the winter. Who knows?

 

I will grant you that, occasionally the bees will do something that seems totally out of character, and in years of extended season where the weather stays hotter then usual, reproductive swarms have happened as late as early August, but I personally have never seen swarming in this late season, without cause, disturbance, something causing them to actually abscound not a reproductive swarm this late. Certianly without extensive feeding and pollen substitute they would not be able to build up enough to collect enough fall nectar to overwinter, assuming there is enough fall flow. As for the numbers of Queen sells, have seen dozens of cell cups not developed queen cells, only a half a dozen or so. Used to live in South Pa, and later in Northern NY, climates vary quite a bit but actual beekeeping season not so dissimiliar. Now in Norhtern Florida everything seasonally is quite different, requiring a bit of adjustment on my part. Back to the fall swarms, I have heard that mite infestations can cause bees to swarm just a thought.
Barry

 

barry writes:
20 lb of sealed honey

tecumseh:
I would suspect that the operable word here is sealed... in jack's words capped.

another and unmentioned consideration.... I don't know about missouri jack but at least here even in a relative dearth you can have a lot of pollen coming in and pollen (most especially when you see solid frames of pollen up next to the brood nest) can also act to greatly crowd a brood nest.

the number of queen cells would suggest this hive had a robust population of young bees. even though the brood nest may appear to the human eye to be relatively uncongested this may have not been so. the swarming urge was likely on this hive about the time jack pulled the honey so the condition then may tell you more than conditions at or about the time of swarming.

referencing winston (page183) there are two seasonal peaks in swarm generation (not absolutely certain of location from where data was generated) but one peak (large) is centered about june and the other (smaller peak) is centered around the end of august and the first of september. he also suggest that under natural condition neither unit is likely to make the winter.

 

Studies out of Cornell has shown a fall swarm season that was the result of nectar flow alone. Areas of goldenrod and aster, and in places such as Florida with brazilian peppers, have a swarm season that accounted to about 20% of all swaems. (80% in the late spring, then 20% in the September timeframe.) In the same study, areas that had little fall nectar, had almost no swarming. So nectar probably is a stronger impulse item than most realize.

A cold spring and wet summer, and perhaps misjudgement on the nectar flow, may be the culprit.

We all hear over and over about lack of room for a queen will cause swarming. And I'm not saying that may not be true. But nectar flow, age of queen, and just the bees desire to propogate the species is reason enough about anytime.

EHB will swarm on average, for hives with no beekeeper manipulations and feral colonies, about 2-3 times per season. AHB will swarm up to 18 times per year just based on the desire to propogate, with little reason of seasonal, congestion, or other factors even being in play.