Image Copyright 2000, David L. Green For personal information and enjoyment: unauthorized reproduction is theft.
The Swarm that Forgot to Find a Home
Image Copyright 2000, David L. Green
For personal information and enjoyment: unauthorized
reproduction is theft.
A swarm normally pitches near the colony from which it emerged. Scouts are then sent out to find a suitable location for a permanent home. If the scouts cannot find a good home, or perhaps cannot agree on one of several choices, the swarm may stay. This swarm, seen on August 31, 2001 in Turbeville, SC was immediately over the pallet of hives places on a cucumber field for pollination service for the spring crop. Probably they emerged from one of the hives below, and then stayed the entire summer on their temporary resting spot. They are too high to try to capture, so I suppose they will just have to take their own chances with winter. And those chances are very poor.