I am wondering if my bees are getting robbed on and off or if it is
'flushes of exuberance', as Andrew describes. I have watched my bees twice
this week when many of them where hovering around and above the entrance,
extremely busy! Also in those instances they were much more aggressive than
usual, really going for me when I was just walking past about 3 meters away
which normally isn't a problem at all. I thought it might be robbing but I
didn't see any fighting outside the entrance, and I also haven't seen any
dead bees lying on the ground. On days when this doesn't happen I can walk
past the hive and no attacks, like today.. That's why I thought it might
have been robbing, my own bees more defensive than normal, and maybe the
robbers attacking me too?
Stefanie
On Thu, Aug 30, 2018 at 11:10 AM Paul Honigmann <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Thank you Andrew, it is fascinating to hear how different the behaviour of
different strains of bee are in the same location.
I collect swarms from up to 20 miles away, so none of my hives have the
same genetics, though they presumably blend together a lot after a few
years / generations in the same area. I see variations in those, for
example I used to have one colony which was mild towards me but hated the
lawnmower, which they would attempt to attack vigorously if it was roaring
and vibrating near them (but not me pushing it). However the variation you
describe is at the limits of what I've seen.
Re: absconding colony: as I understand it, colonies have to be under a lot
of pressure to abandon their stores, babies and painstakingly constructed
comb.Were they being robbed by the larger colonies? Another possibility is
they went queenless and survivors merged with one of the others, as
Margaret [we think] saw with two sister colonies; though that's less likely
as your bees are not closely related.
On the subject of how colonies vary: one thing that intrigues me is
aggression in bees. Why does it occur when 2 different strains are crossed
- what's the genetic mechanism? Why do people say "it's carried by the
drones" - I think that is deeply flawed reasoning by people trying to
establish non native bees and being surprised when local bees mate with
theirs. You may as well say it is carried by beekeepers using foreign
strains. Another thing is apparent, that most (not all) bees people say are
vicious seem quite docile when in the care of low-intervention beeks. So
there are obviously a lot of myths here. I hope to find out more on this
subject at the Learning From The Bees conference where there will be a wide
variety of international beekeepers and researchers.
Paul
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On 29 August 2018 5:45 PM, Andrew Bax <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Paul asked me for a progress report on the bees I inadvertently imported.
The Mellifera package was hived in a new TBH and now has 12 full combs
covered in bees. They are moderately and constantly active.
The Carniolan package now occupies two full Warre boxes. It has always
been extremely active and prone to flushes of exuberance in which a great
many bees pour out of the hive on what seems to be an orientation flight,
and cover the front of the hive; it lasts about 20 minutes and they did it
today.
I also have a colony in a Warre which has survived several generations and
swarmed this year. Although that, too, covers two full boxes, the bees are
worryingly inactive. Those bees that are flying are still bringing in
pollen.
In another Warre I also hived a small swarm; a few weeks later I united it
with a further swarm. They seemed to be getting along swimmingly but after
three weeks they absconded.
I have extracted honey from all three occupied hives and will be feeding
them.
Andrew