Swarms and

[Joseph Clemens]

Yesterday at dusk, when I had just finished working with the bees and was headed indoors - I noticed that a small swarm was just arriving from somewhere South of my location so I waited to see what their intended destination was. It was on an outside corner of the shade cloth which encloses my apiary. As the bees were beginning to cluster I kept a careful watch for the queen (queen cage in hand). There she was a large, well formed, dark black queen. I picked her up and caged her, then hung the cage from a wire in the spot where her swarm was now beginning to cluster. It was the size of a tennis ball, not easily viable at this time of year, since they would need to defend themselves against robbers.

I also discovered that two more of my nucs had apparently been taken over by other black queens from outside my apiary. Perhaps that was the objective of this one as well. Robbing or attempted robbing seems to have reduced the populations of many of my colonies, but especially the nucs, where 1/3 have even lost their nice Cordovan Italian queens and I've had to combine them with other nucs in order to save the bees.

I am uncertain of the pedegree of these black queens. Since all my queens are Cordovan Italian, I've only seen them produce Cordovan Italian or normal Italian colored daughters. I have also been keeping close watch on the status of my nucs so as to intervene in the case of robbing. Having two nucs with only a palm sized area of brood suddenly have black queens instead of Cordovan without queen cells, is suspicious, to say the least. Perhaps this is how AHB colonies survive periods of dearth, by taking over colonies with good stores of honey. A better technique, even than robbing.

At least the Winter rains will finally be here starting tomorrow and lasting through Thanksgiving day. If enough falls, soon there could be forage again for the bees. Maybe then the black queens will stay in their own hives.

[Joseph Clemens]

We received fairly significant rainfall around Thanksgiving, and afterwards we cooled down into the high 60'sF - low 70'sF daytime and 40'sF to 50'sF at night, so the ground has remained moist. Everywhere the ground is carpeted with wildflower seedling. It's only a matter of time, now.

Today, Wednesday, 17 Dec 2008, while it was still overcast and cool outside, just after 12:00 noon, a swarm of bees was visible from our front window (they clustered at the top of a fence post near our front door and had departed before we returned home). I went outside to check them out, and try to identify if they were issuing from any of my colonies - they weren't. I did notice an additional saucer sized swarm clustered on the side of one of my nucs. I didn't have time just then to investigate any further, but it seems that the AHB are working overtime to usurp my carefully cultured Cordovan Italian queens -- especially in my nuc sized colonies. :cry:

I understand that our local bee lab has been working on this issue. I wonder if they have made any progress?

[RayMarler]

Well, I think you might be jumping the gun on assuming these are AHB. It is more likely that someone in your area has some hives that they are not managing to prevent swarming, or at least, it's as likely. Have you noticed any increase in defensiveness from these bees?

[Joseph Clemens]

My belief that these small swarms that have been invading my apiary in large numbers starting in October may be usurping AHB, is inspired by the discovery that many of my nucs now have very dark queens (almost black), where just a few weeks earlier they were headed by young vigorous queens, raised by me, and those were homozygous Cordovan Italians. None of my hives or nucs have grown any queen cells since the Autumn dearth has begun, and apparently it is a well-known trait of AHB from maternal lineage to send out small swarms that usurp EHB colonies.

I was reluctant to accept this truth, until I first witnessed it for myself. Now, I've seen it several more times and the aftermath. Initially I had thought that the dead bees everywhere were caused by robbing - especially since we have been in a dearth since late Summer, but only a few nucs have had their honey robbed. Most still have their honey and pollen stores, though most have had the majority of their field bees killed. Many have their Cordovan Italian queen dead on the bottom board and new, very dark queens occupying their hives.

[Adrian Quiney WI]

From the way you put it, it is as though you are surrounded by usurpers, and regicide seems inevitable.:(
However, what if you were to put robber screens on the entrances to your colonies? Would that stop invaders as well as robbers?:scratch:
I have read your earlier posts and the energy you have invested to obtain these cordovan queens. It would be terrible to lose them all. Commiserations, Adrian.

[Joseph Clemens]

Initially I was just frustrated at the difficulty I had keeping my hives and nucs queened with Cordovan Italian queens. Recently, as I stepped up my queen producing efforts, I noticed that none of the rouge queens that my own hives sometimes produced were anything but normal colored Italians, while most usurper queens (those that were found to be unexpectedly heading colonies which had just days before been headed by new laying Cordovan Italian queens), were very dark queens, most nearly black. This past season I spent more time than I ever had previously, raising Cordovan queens to maintain them in my colonies, yet many more than I ever expected were usurped, and continue to be, by small swarms from outside my apiary.

Maybe they're AHB. I don't really care. They're not Cordovan Italian, so I need to replace them with my chosen queens, Cordovan Italian, as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I guess I am going to be pinching dark queens and not combining colonies, since I don't wish those Cordovan Italian queens I do have to be destroyed by those bees that have accepted these usurping queens. I already tried doing some combines and had those unacceptable results. :(