One of my 8 frame ObHs swarmed day before yesterday. I don’t blame them, that’s their mission in life and they were crowded. I’d seen it coming for several days and had been working inside near the Obh and heard the action start, the roar in the Hive. I grabbed my video camera and went out side. It was like a waterfall pouring out of the entrance. They went 10’ feet over and 30’ up in a spruce. Way to high for me and my saw and an empty super that I’d hoped they’d head for. So they spent the night there, next day kept watch hoping they’d move lower or perhaps find my super, there were a few scouts checking it out, but had to go to the Post Office. When I got back they’d vanished. I’ve 85 acres of dense forest and here they'll never survive.
Here are my questions: Where do swarms go, is there any predictability to it? How many hops, how far?, brush, high, low?. I’ve looked around but 3’ beyond my lawn would be like a needle in a hay stack. Incidentally at that height they look about like a porcupine eating a spruce top.
Anybody out there with experience tracking Swarms?
Mark
www.bonterrabees.com
got some good video if I can figure out how to get it on
