Swarms in So Fla

KeyLargoBees · April 30, 2015, 11:25:37 AM

Was reading about swarm captures and thinking how cool that would be.....and then saw the advisory by the Florida Agricultural department that about 70% of the swarms in Florida are from wild hives and virtually all of those wild hives are Africanized.....they went on to advise against swarm capture in the state of Florida and were advocating swarm destruction.

Is it really that bad down here?

mikecva · April 30, 2015, 11:58:21 AM

Unless you know were the swarm came from, I would advise against catching wild swarms in Florida. -Mike

pdmattox · May 01, 2015, 07:08:13 AM

I think that policy is a bad idea. I have never had an issue with Africanized bees and I have had bees all over the state of Florida. It seems there is this thought out there that if the bees are hot, then they must be Africanized. Fact is they could be just hungry or queenless. If you think they could be African or too hot to handle just re-queen them.

johng · May 01, 2015, 02:28:28 PM

Florida is a very big State (long) so there is a big difference between South Fl. and North Fl. The problem is the State of Florida is tasked with making recommendations for the State as a whole. You can be pretty much assured a lot of the swarms caught in South Florida will be Americanized to a certain extent. You can't even find any Americanized hives in North Florida. So keep that in mind when you read recommendations from The State.

It would be a good idea to requeen those swarms caught in South Florida. What's $20 for the price of a queen if you can get a nice big swarm?

jayj200 · May 02, 2015, 10:18:03 AM

Is tasked with what brings in the most revenue only. screw the small people every time

Sundog · May 05, 2015, 10:55:55 PM

Quote from: pdmattox on May 01, 2015, 07:08:13 AM
I think that policy is a bad idea. I have never had an issue with Africanized bees and I have had bees all over the state of Florida. It seems there is this thought out there that if the bees are hot, then they must be Africanized. Fact is they could be just hungry or queenless. If you think they could be African or too hot to handle just re-queen them.

+1

Lots of media misinformation out there. I have heard "if the bees are low to the ground they are AHB", "if they are high up they are AHB". Somebody gets stung more than once, they are AHB, although no scientific confirmation. Authorities feel they need to err on the cautious side.

I have hived three feral cutouts and recently collected a large open-air hive, been involved on several other cutouts and haven't had any troubles. Of course, it is wise to approach with caution in case they are "hot". If you haven't already, invest in a decent jacket.

Have fun

jayj200 · May 06, 2015, 09:43:21 AM

theu say very small swarms are ahb I had a large swarm turn

Michael Bush · May 06, 2015, 10:08:57 AM

>Is it really that bad down here?

I know many people who collect swarms in Florida. Assuming there are AHB in Florida, then if you wipe out all the feral bees, then all the feral bees will be AHB. If you keep culling the mean ones, they won't be. Latest research shows the bees in FL are NOT AHB they are Apis iberica that were misidentified. Some are nice and some are not. You need to stay on top of things and cull the mean ones before they get too strong. When a hive is hot, requeen. Anyone, anywhere, should have a plan for what they will do if their bees get mean. Move them somewhere they are not a threat and then requeen. Move them back when they are nice again.

BeeMaster2 · May 06, 2015, 12:17:29 PM

Quote from: Michael Bush on May 06, 2015, 10:08:57 AM
>Is it really that bad down here?

I know many people who collect swarms in Florida. Assuming there are AHB in Florida, then if you wipe out all the feral bees, then all the feral bees will be AHB. If you keep culling the mean ones, they won't be. Latest research shows the bees in FL are NOT AHB they are Apis iberica that were misidentified. Some are nice and some are not. You need to stay on top of things and cull the mean ones before they get too strong. When a hive is hot, requeen. Anyone, anywhere, should have a plan for what they will do if their bees get mean. Move them somewhere they are not a threat and then requeen. Move them back when they are nice again.

+1
Well said and very good advice.
Jim