Author Topic: What makes a swarm feral? (Read 3475 times)

FordGuy · « **on:** August 15, 2005, 10:21:18 am »

I hear people talking about feral survivors, but what is the standard that seperates a feral survivor colony from some poor guy's NWCs that just swarmed a month ago and lucked up into your swarm trap, or on a branch where you found them?

Michael Bush · « **Reply #1 on:** August 15, 2005, 02:25:20 pm »

>I hear people talking about feral survivors, but what is the standard that seperates a feral survivor colony from some poor guy's NWCs that just swarmed a month ago and lucked up into your swarm trap, or on a branch where you found them?

Even a swarm from a swarm is noticably larger than feral bees. Bees on natural sized cells are 3mm shorter than domestic bees on 5.4mm foundaion. A swarm usually builds about 5.1mm comb. A swarm from that swarm usually builds about 4.9. A swarm from that swarm usually builds between 4.4mm and 4.85mm with most around 4.8mm or so. These bees are much smaller than a swarm from someones hive, UNLESS they have small cell bees, which almost no one does.

Finsky · « **Reply #2 on:** August 15, 2005, 03:56:07 pm »

All American bees Apis mellifera have escaped from human. There are no "wild" honeybee in Northen America. That is feral bee.

Jerrymac · « **Reply #3 on:** August 15, 2005, 07:49:39 pm »

All bee's ancesters were wild bees.

Joseph Clemens · « **Reply #4 on:** August 15, 2005, 09:14:08 pm »

Sounds like feral could be a swarm in a tree = feral swarm once it has issued from its managed hive and before it is returned to a managed hive, or a colony that established itself in anything other than a managed beehive.

Finsky · « **Reply #5 on:** August 15, 2005, 10:58:17 pm »

Quote from: Jerrymac

All bee's ancesters were wild bees.

So did also humans wild ancestor humans :roll:

100 years ago there were in many places wild people: Indians, Negros, Eskimoes, Tasmanians.. They were taken into Zoo in cage that visitors may see feral peoples.

Feral = line in the water

Jerrymac · « **Reply #6 on:** August 16, 2005, 12:20:31 am »

And some of us people seek the wilder side.

Romahawk · « **Reply #7 on:** August 16, 2005, 11:29:26 am »

I have a friend who has a colony of bees in the side of a utility shed that has been there for at least 8 years and spawns several swarms a year. I think that this might be considered a colony of feral survivors. I think one would have to observe and verify the existance of a colony for several years before you could call them survivors and then actually observe the issuance of the swarm to know that you had the off spring of this colony.

beemaster · « **Reply #8 on:** August 16, 2005, 11:39:01 am »

My two cents....

I like to let swarms return to the wild (as long as I know the hive was healthy and that I have no need for more hives) I'll let them go and find a new home, hopefully surviving and increasing the population of bees in nature.

I call feral bees (clinically - in my opinion) a hive that has survived and replaced the original queen with a second generation BORN in the wild "and" when that hive reaches the point where all workers are from that new queen.

Seems to me that (at this point) the new natural hive has NO relationship to the original swarm or its mother colony, and now is Feral - I hope some of you agree. :)

Finsky · « **Reply #9 on:** August 16, 2005, 12:19:24 pm »

Quote from: beemaster

I call feral bees (clinically - in my opinion) a hive that has survived and replaced the original queen with a second generation BORN in the wild "and" when that hive reaches the point where all workers are from that new queen.

Seems to me that (at this point) the new natural hive has NO relationship to the original swarm or its mother colony, and now is Feral - I hope some of you agree. :)

Not a bad idea! There is a line between escaped and not escaped.

But escaper is free. But is the same today tame and next day wild?

You really are rigth Mr. Beemaster!

(The winners will write the truth)