Swarm or Mating flight.

[Cellectronic]

Hi All,
Today I witnessed a small swarm from one of my hives , at first I thought one of the virgin Queens were coming out to mate. I have around 6 of these in apidea and nucs.
Bees were flying around everywhere but seemed particularly interested in a certain area near a hedge.
I cant say where the bees originated from as I have 3 hives 3 nucs and 4 apideas.
Not knowing if it was a big excitement about a mating flight or a swarm my question is .
Is there a sure way to tell if your bees are swarming or if its a mating flight.
Good thing was that it turned out to be a cast swarm which I recovered before the rains came.

 

[Finman]

.
Yes it is sure. You can see clearly swarming but you never see mating.

 

[Cellectronic]

Thanks Finman,
So i should have been more careful on my inspection, yet another lesson learned.
It was a good job that I double checked the hedgerow and collected the caste swarm.
Thanks again for the info.

 

[oliver90owner]

Queen cells in the hives is a good indication, I would have thought. No queen cells recently, no swarm. Simple as that, I would think. But I keep things simple with my beekeeping....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thanks Finman,
So i should have been more careful on my inspection, yet another lesson learned.
It was a good job that I double checked the hedgerow and collected the caste swarm.
Thanks again for the info.

There was no info giving - just his usual snide comment.
No real way of telling apart from with a mating swarm, after five minutes of frantically milling around they seem to realise their mistake and sheepishly queue up to go back into the hive. I have seen it happen three or four times - usually from nucs which only had bees and one QC in and it happened at about a week or so after the queen should have emerged. I witnessed the bees spilling out of the hive, filling the apiary then about ten minutes or so later beard on the nuc and the hive stand before trooping back in to the nuc, happened on two successive days (I happened to be home on injury leave and spent my time pottering around the garden apiary and had my camera handy.
With a full on swarm they just leave and may hang up on a convenient branch not far from the hive before disappearing into the distance.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It was a good job that I double checked the hedgerow and collected the caste swarm.

How do you know it was a cast?

 

[Cellectronic]

How do you know it was a cast?

It was only a small swarm around tennis ball size or slightly more.
I cut the stem they were clinging to and popped them in a nuc with 3 frames of foundation.
My intention maybe to let them build up or add them to another nuc in a few weeks depending on what signs they show me.

 

[Fritillary]

I witnessed the bees spilling out of the hive, filling the apiary then about ten minutes or so later beard on the nuc and the hive stand before trooping back in

Happened here this morning. Was so relieved to see them all go back in! - after wondering where I was going to put them if it were a swarm...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And sometimes (it happened on the second day with the colony pictured) a few will cluster on a twig for a while then go back in later

 

[Finman]

.
I have reared 50 years queens and mated them. I have never seen mating swarm.

The queen makes several mating flight during couple of days, and no extra traffic happens around mating nucs. Nucs make normal poo flights at afternoon, so called orientation flights.

I have not seen any research about that either. Even if I have read new mating researches.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

difficult to see a mating swarm when you are sat in front of the computer all day and only go out after dark.
Anyway, I thought you said that rearing queens on a small scale was a waste of time and you bought in all yours.
Or is that another fantasy/fallacy

 

[Fritillary]

Last year also, I had a swarm - the first I'd ever seen! - from a feral colony under a neighbour's roof. Two weeks later the same neighbour came to tell me the bees were swarming again. For about half an hour, a clump of a few thousand hung in a magnolia in their garden - and then all flew home again.

 

[Finman]

difficult to see a mating swarm when you are sat in front of the computer all day and only go out after dark.
Anyway, I thought you said that rearing queens on a small scale was a waste of time and you bought in all yours.
Or is that another fantasy/fallacy

Not so good as laying swarm which is sitting on hedge and waiting princes to come home. And someone is in garden and waiting that bees come to sit on hedge twigs.

Me cry....

 

[stoneleighhouse]

I am now pretty sure after seeing so many patronising replies on this forum that sarcasm towards people who want advice must make you into a good beekeeper

 

[SixFooter]

I am now pretty sure after seeing so many patronising replies on this forum that sarcasm towards people who want advice must make you into a good beekeeper

I was thinking that beekeeping for years turns you into a bit of a patronising tit. And yet, most beekeepers are pleasant enough when you meet them in person, so maybe it just turns you into a cybertit.

 

[chrismcd]

No reason why some bees shouldn't get caught up in a mating flight

No real way of telling apart from with a mating swarm, after five minutes of frantically milling around they seem to realise their mistake and sheepishly queue up to go back into the hive. I have seen it happen three or four times - usually from nucs which only had bees and one QC in and it happened at about a week or so after the queen should have emerged. I witnessed the bees spilling out of the hive, filling the apiary then about ten minutes or so later beard on the nuc and the hive stand before trooping back in to the nuc,

Just seen the same thing with one of my nucs.

Not big enough to be a swarm and most of them were quite docile.

You do wonder whether the bees were getting excited about a virgin going off on a mating flight and came out with her. I have heard reports that some fly off with her - presumably carried away in all the excitement. After all, a lot of these bees will be very young house bees with very few foragers from the old hive.

As you say, most simply hang around at the entrance and then go back in.

 

[Cellectronic]

.
I have reared 50 years queens and mated them. I have never seen mating swarm.

The queen makes several mating flight during couple of days, and no extra traffic happens around mating nucs. Nucs make normal poo flights at afternoon, so called orientation flights.

I have not seen any research about that either. Even if I have read new mating researches.

Probably because she does not want people watching whilst she is doing private stuff.

 

[Finman]

.
Private with 1000 drones..... And 10 000 workers watching on hedge..

 

[Swarm]

I was thinking that beekeeping for years turns you into a bit of a patronising tit. And yet, most beekeepers are pleasant enough when you meet them in person, so maybe it just turns you into a cybertit.

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