Thriving ferals

[oxnatbees]

This is the first warm sunny day we've had for ages and after a cold wet start to Spring, there is finally significant blossom around to draw bees out. I walked round my village to see how the feral colonies fared over winter. They were active and there is zero possibility that they could have been repopulated by escapees from apiaries as swarm season has yet to begin (probably 2-4 weeks away yet).

Colony 1: active (3rd season)
Colony 2: inactive, presumably dead (was ~2-3 years old)
Colony 3: very active (~4 - 5 years old)
Colony 4: very active (14 years old)
Multi-colony: 4 entrances active (I have never been sure how many colonies are in this roof. At least two, but a couple of the entrances are near enough they may be one colony.)

So one dead, 5-7 alive. Quite good overwintering stats.

There used to be another which died last year sometime, possibly poisoned by the property owner like one of its predecessors in the same roof cavity; I note the entrance is now cemented up by property owner.

This is in Oxfordshire. It's possible ferals can't survive in other areas; but now is a good time to check local colonies and see for yourself how they are doing.

 

[Dodge]

Feral colony in a flat roof cavity over a hairdressers has got through its second winter and a good number have beem flying on any day above 7c. Few bees on floor ceawling about with DWV but thats about it.

 

[birdsandbees]

The colony in an old Willow tree that I pass on the way to one of my Apiaries didn't make it, they were active earlier in the year but when I passed on Saturday there was no activity
they've occupied that tree for the last couple of years that I know of and I caught a swarm from them last year (or I think it was them)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

This is the first warm sunny day we've had for ages and after a cold wet start to Spring, there is finally significant blossom around to draw bees out. I walked round my village to see how the feral colonies fared over winter. They were active and there is zero possibility that they could have been repopulated by escapees from apiaries as swarm season has yet to begin (probably 2-4 weeks away yet).

Colony 1: active (3rd season)
Colony 2: inactive, presumably dead (was ~2-3 years old)
Colony 3: very active (~4 - 5 years old)
Colony 4: very active (14 years old)
Multi-colony: 4 entrances active (I have never been sure how many colonies are in this roof. At least two, but a couple of the entrances are near enough they may be one colony.)

So one dead, 5-7 alive. Quite good overwintering stats.

There used to be another which died last year sometime, possibly poisoned by the property owner like one of its predecessors in the same roof cavity; I note the entrance is now cemented up by property owner.

This is in Oxfordshire. It's possible ferals can't survive in other areas; but now is a good time to check local colonies and see for yourself how they are doing.

And you have hard evidence to prove that 'colony 4' is the same colony that was sighted 14 years ago? or the others for that matter.

 

[fatshark]

Feral colony in a flat roof cavity over a hairdressers has got through its second winter and a good number have beem flying on any day above 7c. Few bees on floor ceawling about with DWV but thats about it.

Pleased I'm not keeping bees anywhere near that colony then

 

[Erichalfbee]

My tree colony is dead

 

[oxnatbees]

And you have hard evidence to prove that 'colony 4' is the same colony that was sighted 14 years ago? or the others for that matter.

I've personally monitored all but the 14 yr old colony every Spring before swarming season. That one, the property manager watches them with interest and says they are always active Feb - March for the last 14 yrs; I've been watching them about 5 years.

But I suppose no level of evidence is good enough for some. Can't prove a negative.

 

[Finman]

.
The truth is, that the colony dies inside couple of years and then a new swarm occupies the place.

You had a research about feral bees a while ago. No colony lived 3 winters in those feral hives.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've personally monitored all but the 14 yr old colony every Spring before swarming season. That one, the property manager watches them with interest and says they are always active Feb - March for the last 14 yrs; I've been watching them about 5 years.

But I suppose no level of evidence is good enough for some. Can't prove a negative.

Colonies often struggle through winter, are active in spring, die before summer.
swarm moves in and the myth is perpetuated.
Thus far I have seen no evidence offered, just surmise and wishful thinking. (and the naiive belief that Oxfordshire bees, unlike the rest of the country, are immune to varroa)

 

[fatshark]

But there is evidence to support the colony expiry and church tower/soffit/wall re-occupancy by a swarm ... in every feral colony tested genetically by Kate Thompson a few years ago. In each case I believe that the closest genetic match was to the geographically-closest beekeepers bees (not as I've stated in a couple of talks 'most closely related to the nearest beekeeper').

And because my colonies aren't the Apis mellifera oxfordus mite-resitantus strain referred to by JBM I'm relieved that mine aren't near one of these Typhoid Mary-like 'mite bombs' as they call them in the US.

 

[fatshark]

D'oh! Just realised ... perhaps they're so closely related genetically because the feral colony was so prolific that the swarms it produced were used by all the local beekeepers as valuable stock to fill their hives with.

That explains it ...

 

[birdsandbees]

D'oh! Just realised ... perhaps they're so closely related genetically because the feral colony was so prolific that the swarms it produced were used by all the local beekeepers as valuable stock to fill their hives with.

That explains it ...

would there no also be Genetic details from the local beekeepers Drones to consider?

 

[oliver90owner]

I’m waiting for a reply to JBM’s post. Seen nothing conclusive about anything, so far.

 

[Finman]

Very strange to believe that in same area feral bees and domestic bees can make two different genepool, when they mate on sky.

Then an individual feral colony, which is mite resistant, may form its own mating area among other ordinary mongrels in the village.

This all is against all biological and genetic theory.

All nature try to keep on cross mating. And bees have special mechanisms against inbreeding.

In eastern Siberia bees have had 100 years time to generate mite free bee stock, but it has not happened.



.

 

[user 6228]

in the paper by Thompson et al (2014)
She showed a distribution of DWV (figure 3 in the paper) which indicated that feral colonies shared attributes of both treated and not treated managed colonies. This data shows that some feral colonies are just as good at combating DWV as managed treated colonies.Unfortunately she did not distinguish other stressors on the feral colonies.

The words in the conclusion and abstract suggest that because all feral colonies do not have low DWV then all feral colonies must die from DWV. This is not borne out by her data.

What is needed instead is research to find out what is common between the feral colonies that have low DWV

Thompson, C. E., Biesmeijer, J. C., Allnutt, T. R., Pietravalle, S., & Budge, G. E. (2014). Parasite pressures on feral honey bees (Apis mellifera sp.). PLoS ONE, 9(8), 1–8. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105164

 

[Finman]

Thompson, C. E., Biesmeijer, J. C., Allnutt, T. R., Pietravalle, S., & Budge, G. E. (2014). Parasite pressures on feral honey bees (Apis mellifera sp.). PLoS ONE, 9(8), 1–8. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105164

The researcher believes, that there are true feral bee populations in UK. He thinks that ferals are not mere escaped swarms. .. Or what he thinks?

 

[Beefriendly]

The researcher believes, that there are true feral bee populations in UK. He thinks that ferals are not mere escaped swarms. .. Or what he thinks?

She couldn't find true feral bees, despite looking in some of the isolated wildernesses in the UK. She looked in Ennerdale (Kielder Forrest?) and a couple of other remote places....she didn't find any honey bees there at all. Suggesting, if there had been isolated pockets of feral bees they no longer existed...or she couldn't locate them.

 

[Finman]

She couldn't find true feral bees, despite looking in some of the isolated wildernesses in the UK. .

You have such there.... Isolated wilderness, where no migrative beekeepers have not found. And no isolated mating stations.

USA is a huge country, and they have found one "isolated wildernes".

Norway has half of the hives outside the range of varroa.

.
.

 

[user 6228]

She couldn't find true feral bees, despite looking in some of the isolated wildernesses in the UK. She looked in Ennerdale (Kielder Forrest?) and a couple of other remote places....she didn't find any honey bees there at all. Suggesting, if there had been isolated pockets of feral bees they no longer existed...or she couldn't locate them.

I think you are mixing up the terms of "feral" and " Wild Native"
feral is merely a condition of not being under the supervision of humans.

 

[Beefriendly]

I think you are mixing up the terms of "feral" and " Wild Native"
feral is merely a condition of not being under the supervision of humans.

It was why said "true feral bees" . She was looking in areas with no beekeepers so they would by definition be feral not necessarily wild natives. Minor semantics.