To control swarming or not

[Rosti]

I am disappointed by large parts of this thread both in terms of its content, but also the tone adopted by some posters. If you wouldn’t be that aggressive and disrespectful to someone’s face then don’t do it here. ‘bingevader’ makes some good points, so do many others in a factual and respectful way, sadly other’s don’t. You could very easily argue that it doesn’t matter if you allow swarming in (or close to) an urban area through ignorance, ineptness or by design, the outcome is the same in terms of social human impact. Swarming will occur, mostly when you are at work and mostly with that sneaky QC you missed. So, any urban beekeepers better stop keeping straight away then if swarming, deliberate or otherwise, is so bad. Alternatively, you can inspect so often to avoid swarming that you put your bees back so much, that that prized honey harvest has just gone out the window. Both positions are clearly unsustainable. Don’t confuse whether swarming is a problem for the keeper and whether it therefore must also be a problem for the bees. There is nothing wrong with being in it for the honey, but don’t pretend you are doing your best by the bees by maximising your honey potential and the docility of your bees. I suggest you are not. I am not slamming those who keep with a primary commercial objective, but if that is your bag, don’t slam someone with an alternative keeping balance.
If you regard the colony as the organism, then stopping swarming, but not expanding your colony count reduces diversity and the opportunity for bees to evolve through geographic and environmental factor exposure. You are also doing your bit to cap species population as measured by colony count (nice one!). Many swarms will fail in the wild, but without that failure, evolution and improved tolerance to environmental factors and changing climate cannot be achieved by the species.
I do practice swarm control and recombination. I also allow some deliberate swarming. I also fail to control some swarming because wider responsibilities get in the way. My hives are in glorious open countryside. I hope I am doing my bit for genetic and geographic diversity. ‘Swarms establishing somewhere they shouldn’t’ is from a human perspective not from the honeybees’ perspective.
Have a read of Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley. Think about whether you’d like to receive some of the posts you have delivered. Wind some necks in and play nicely.
Note to trolls: I’ve run my own business in a hostile environment for too long, I am already ugly and thick skinned, I have almost certainly said things I should not have, using words I should not have used, I try to do better now. By all means respond, I’ll read, smile, reflect and quite possibly modify my view-point. If you are dogmatic or aggressive, then you are confusing me with someone who cares. There is a big difference between a lively respectful debate and some of the personalised trash in this thread.
I’ve been away from this forum for a while, I hoped for better. Nice cup of coffee whilst writing this mind.

 

[Teebeeaitch]

Well said Rosti, lovely post. I am with you 100% but we know it’s way beyond the grasp of most of the prolific posters.

 

[eltalia]

I am disappointed by large parts of this thread both in terms of its content....

A comprehensive article Rosti it does rely very much on personal philosophy.
Also contains a healthy sprinkle of erroneous presumption -

If you regard the colony as the organism, then stopping swarming, but not expanding
your colony count reduces diversity and the opportunity for bees to evolve through
geographic and environmental factor exposure. You are also doing your bit to cap
species population as measured by colony count (nice one!).

IF you were to take in my post (#18) you would note I point to turning the urge
off, as practice... not necessarily then getting into those further practices which
often include drone numbers reduction.
I mention this as I would argue the above quoted excerpt implys diversity is
affected whereas in fact drones are not controlled as such, maintaining diversity.

Further, I'd also argue it is essential an apiarist does indeed "cap species
population" within the apiary as anything else just feeds into the many problems
newbies and established b'keeps alike see manifested in managed colonys.
Feral bees will maintain what numbers they can without further impact from
ingress of swarms from apiarys in the area or indeed the finite volumes of forage.
The latter being arguably more regressive for ferals in rural settings than any
deliberate restriction of the gene pool by b'keeps.

..back to you.

 

[birdsandbees]

Considering that this is a U.K forum then 'Rural' doesn't mean absolute isolation from habitation, in fact it could be worse!
a rural swarm looking for a new abode has limited options therefore the rural houses stand a far higher probability of having unwelcome visitors into the fabric of their houses.
considering the last three calls I've had regarding bees in soffits and chimneys have been houses in the countryside and over the last couple of years cut outs have been predominantly on houses in rural areas, one such house had three separate colonies living within it!

My own bees are all in rural areas and despite this I do all I can to prevent them swarming, I'd hate to be informed by one of the local residents that their chimney has been occupied by a swarm that may have come from my hives.

 

[Murox]

I have been hearing a lot recently about how the bee numbers are down over the years. It made me think we do beekeepers put so much effort into stopping hives swarming.

Is swarm control part of the problem? I can see the argument in an urban area for control but what about rural areas?

I don't think Honey bee numbers are down, its all the other types.
I think there is a lack of understanding amongst beekeepers regarding swarming and its various reasons.
Rural is just a figure of speech and the the previous post made the point well.

 

[Beefriendly]

There is a lot to be said for everyone allowing their bees to swarm willy nilly and losing most of their workforce.
It should push the price of honey up for those of us who practice the unnatural act of swarm control.

 

[MartinL]

Oh dear, we're in the beginners section aren't we?

So I'll try to be short.

Beekeeping is my hobby.
This hobby means I try to control swarming and "try" to maximise production.

On an environmental perspective I try not to have an adverse affect on the wider environment, (where other insects are struggling).

Careless release of swarms (that are most likely to die out over winter) puts a strain on other insects that are competing for the same forage. Insects that are truly in decline.

Allowing willy-nilly release of swarms is akin to feeding the grey squirrels and simply wrong.

 

[Richard65]

As I said earlier, I am glad I asked the question. Interesting responses.

This is a beginners section and I assumed it would be ok to voice questions on different topics even if it was against perceived wisdom and my own practice just to see the range of views.

Some it seems were born with complete knowledge and understanding about everything. If that is the case then I congratulate you on it and can you turn your attention to matters such as curing cancer and answering the question of life. This is just a bit of banter, you do not have to take that part seriously.

Kind regards

Richard