[Adam Foster Collins]

After reading several recent accounts of newly installed swarms absconding, I wonder what do we know will cause bees to abscond?

Do people have clear experiences which they can share to help the rest of us avoid such situations?

I have two swarms coming in a few weeks for new tbh's (not built yet) and I have one bait hive set out on the off chance of a swarm.

Thanks,

Adam

 

[concrete-bees]

most leave new beekeepers from Pestering them

other reasons would be bad housing - old moldy

if you install them two early in the day - this will give them the chance to find a better home - if you install them in the late afternoon they will not want to leave and also over night the queens scent is bonded to the new hive and they will not want to leave

also - ive seen where there is a loose queen and a caged queen - not being able to kill the caged queen the loose queen will swarm out in the first few days

 

[Countryboy]

If folks knew for sure what causes absconding, they would know how to prevent it.

Bees abscond because they up and decide to leave the hive.

 

[Adam Foster Collins]

Well, that's just it. I'm wondering what people have found that will make them leave. For instance, someone may have discovered that if they use a certain adhesive or finish when building a hive, that bees find the smell of it intolerable and won't stay in it. People may have discovered any number of things, and I'm wondering what they might be.

 

[Countryboy]

Bees feeling disrupted. They may blame being in a package for a few days on this new home, so they leave it.

Chemical smells of the new hive. Paint, etc. Remember that bees have some of the best olfactory organs (noses) in the world.

A queen they don't like, and they want to leave.

Not having a frame of brood present. (A frame of brood does wonders for preventing absconding.)

Not having any drawn comb present.

The hive not smelling like bees have lived there before.

The bees just plain don't like their new home.

The reasons may be so random that we can't figure them out. If we knew what caused absconding, we could take steps to prevent it.

The frame of brood is one of the best things I know to prevent absconding, but that's a lot harder to ship than a package...and it just adds to the cost.

 

[Beaver Dam]

I keep my swarms or what ever closed up for a minium of 3 days. I feed and will open them up in late evening for a flight. When dark sets in I close them up untill the next evening.Did I say feed.

 

[Michael Bush]

Antyhing pestering them constantly. They are more likely to abscond if they have little invested (like little or no brood, little or no comb).

 

[nurseric]

i have had two splits and two swarms to up and leave. I have tried everything that I can read or find on the internet. First, I split a hive that was about to swarm. It had 11 queen cells. I put them in another yard. I waited two days and nights before I removed the screen. There was brood and Honey. I waited 10 days before opening up the hive. The bees were gone and hive was full of Hive beetle larve. Another split was moved the same day. They moved out. No hive beetles. Just gone. Next I had a huge swarm that I put in an empty hive. I didn't have any drawn comb. Just fresh foundation. I sprayed it with Honey B Healthy/sugar water. After two weeks. GONE. They had began to build comb and store pollen and honey. The fourth hive was a swarm. I set it up and waited two full weeks. Gone. I am so confused. This is the first time in 3 years that this has happened. I went from twenty hives to 16 in a matter of weeks. This is why packages can be risky. Use drawn comb and keep the sugar water on them for weeks.

 

[Roland]

Bees are like having a very beautiful wife. If they perceive that they can get a better deal somewhere else, they leave. So give your wife and your bees they best they can get.

Roland (still looking for an honest woman)

 

[Michael Bush]

Sounds like a SHB problem, perhaps... they do seem to cause absconding...

 

[USCBeeMan]

Agree with M Bush. Posted last night but when I hit some key my entire post disappeared so I just quit and went to bed.

 

[Adam Foster Collins]

sounds like a shb problem, perhaps... They do seem to cause absconding...

shb?

 

[Adam Foster Collins]

Oh - Small Hive Beetle. Got it.