first swarm report today 2nd April

[MuswellMetro]

one of our members was called to the first swarm of the year today, on OSR near the M25 Potters Bar junction

Becasue we do not know of feral bees in the area,we assume it is a hive put onto the OSR by a keeper who has not realised that the nectar is in full flow

or it could be a beekeeper who has read this forum and when it said dont open up before mid april, well , read your Bees not your books ,

 

[itma]

At the Canterbury meeting this evening, I was told that a member had had his bees swarm this morning (not anyone I know, so I don't know the back-story).
So, yes, it has definitely started!

 

[dpearce4]

Had a call today. wasn't able to deal with it as at work. Mind you have a cut out to do in the next couple of weeks, before they get to big.

 

[poshpikey]

Getting quite a bit of interest in a bait hive I put out - fingers crossed!

 

[Roola]

Getting quite a bit of interest in a bait hive I put out - fingers crossed!

Yes, I put one out here and had a bee go in within 10 minutes.

 

[richardbees]

had a bee go in within 10 minutes

...hope it wasn't one of mine!

 

[MuswellMetro]

Nay, it was one of mine, it caught the Northern Line from Mill Hill East Station next to some of my hives

 

[Pete D]

Swarm collected locally on Saturday which had come from a feral colony living in a house roof. Member who collected it said it was very large..........thank you very much.

Got me thinking that feral bees would be building up after the mild winter and would more likely swarm first as they dont have a beekeeper making their cavity bigger week after week.

 

[Skyhook]

Performed my first AS of the year at the weekend, QC's well advanced.

.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Swarm collected locally on Saturday which had come from a feral colony living in a house roof. Member who collected it said it was very large..........thank you very much.

Got me thinking that feral bees would be building up after the mild winter and would more likely swarm first as they dont have a beekeeper making their cavity bigger week after week.

We seem to hear less these days about the extinction of the feral bee; it'll be interesting to see how many swarms are attributed to feral sources.

 

[itma]

We seem to hear less these days about the extinction of the feral bee; it'll be interesting to see how many swarms are attributed to feral sources.

Because it is beyond doubt that in England they are effectively extinct.
If they weren't continually being replaced from beekeepers' lost swarms, they likely wouldn't exist at all.

New swarms LOVE to set up home in a place that has previously hosted bees. Giving the false impression of continuous occupation. "Been bees up thar fer years n years."

// ADDED Lost swarms can survive long enough to throw off a swarm themselves.
However, the colonies are not reproducing fast enough to hold a stable population (given the rate of non-survival) without the continual top-up of bee-non-keepers' losses.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Because it is beyond doubt that in England they are effectively extinct.
If they weren't continually being replaced from beekeepers' lost swarms, they likely wouldn't exist at all.

New swarms LOVE to set up home in a place that has previously hosted bees. Giving the false impression of continuous occupation. "Been bees up thar fer years n years."

// ADDED Lost swarms can survive long enough to throw off a swarm themselves.
However, the colonies are not reproducing fast enough to hold a stable population (given the rate of non-survival) without the continual top-up of bee-non-keepers' losses.

I'm not "pushing back" (however I am aware I am drifting) but I am FASCINATED by feral AM. If there were a comeback, how would we know? Or vice-versa?

 

[Chris B]

Because it is beyond doubt that in England they are effectively extinct.
If they weren't continually being replaced from beekeepers' lost swarms, they likely wouldn't exist at all.

New swarms LOVE to set up home in a place that has previously hosted bees. Giving the false impression of continuous occupation. "Been bees up thar fer years n years."

// ADDED Lost swarms can survive long enough to throw off a swarm themselves.
However, the colonies are not reproducing fast enough to hold a stable population (given the rate of non-survival) without the continual top-up of bee-non-keepers' losses.

The rate of non-survival - how do you know what it is? From what I've seen survival rate is at least as good as bees in hives.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Because it is beyond doubt that in England they are effectively extinct.

[/QUOTE]
fe·ral (fîr′əl, fĕr′-)
adj.
a. Existing in a wild or untamed state.
b. Having returned to an untamed state from domestication.

ex·tinct (ĭk-stĭngkt′)
adj.
1. No longer existing or living: an extinct species.

[/QUOTE]

So it's beyond doubt that the statement is incorrect as the statement:

If they weren't continually being replaced from beekeepers' lost swarms,

states that there are feral bees hmm? as you must accept that they have either returned to their wild state or were never 'domesticated' to start with.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Here's one. http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=403809&postcount=1