Swarming flight path

[Flyboy]

Yesterday as I came back from town I parked and immidiately noticed a swarm over the house. So there I dash, over fields, through valleys uphill through woodlands for a mile and half where they came to a stop and seemingly congregated. Let me tell you, they motor and its easy to loose them!
Went back with gear and found them on a brambled metal fence and boxed them.

It struck me how straight their line to the intended site was- for those who have a lot of experience, would this be a good assumption to know which area the swarm could have originated from?

 

[MartinL]

Across open country perhaps?

Builtup areas/ trees, probably not!

 

[drstitson]

"It struck me how straight their line to the intended site was"

why would it be anything else?

the scouts know the route - the bulk of the swarm follows the scouts.

 

[ijcooper]

It's not called a beeline for nothing!

 

[Flyboy]

Maybe HM wants to take in some sights and local scenery before she is again confined as egg laying machine. I live in open countryside and the freestanding mansion on the hill is 4 stories high where they just flew over but after which they rather stayed lower to the ground.

 

[drstitson]

"Maybe HM wants to take in some sights and local scenery before she is again confined as egg laying machine"

she might BUT the swarm follows the scouts who cycle from front to back and so forth so everyone knows where they are going.

remember bees are flummoxed by a 1m+ shift in hive position - that's pretty direct targeting if you think about flight path back from a forage site 3 odd miles away.

 

[beeno]

Hi Flyboy,
That must have been a strange sight. Well done you for keeping up with them.