how far do swarms move?

[goertzen29]

Hello,

.....I understand there may not be much conclusive evidence out there as it would be pretty hard to track a swarm, without out seeing it leave the hive and watching where it goes.  But I'm wondering if some of those beekeepers out there more seasoned than I and more experienced in  the ways of bees may have some ideas or feeling to weigh in....

so here goes ;) 


I had a hive swarm earlier this spring, and I think I have another looking like it may swarm too.  I'm putting together a 10 frame deep as a swarm trap but I'm wondering about a few things I couldn't really find in searching. 

Do swarms usually go a long way from the parent hive?  The reason I wonder is I have about 50-150 yards around my hives on which to place this trap, should I go the full distance or closer?  My parents live about 1/2 mile away, would that be a better distance for a trap?


I am also curious about swarm distance because I lost one swarm this year and one last year and I'm wondering if they make it through the winter are they likely in the area that I could catch their swarms too? 

thanks

Jay

[AllenF]

Most people would say to put it 100 yards away and 10 foot off the ground.   But I really don't think it matters as long as you have it off the ground and somewhere the bees can find it.   Lemongrass oil and old frames put out the scent that will bring them in, hopefully.

[hardwood]

I get a lot of swarms that "land" within sight of the mother colony. Some are as little as 20 feet away! Others travel a bit further, but if you set your traps 100 and 200 yards away you'll have a good shot at them.

It seems that once they decide to swarm, they just get the he77 out of there and cluster nearby where they send out scouts, chat a little, have a smoke or whatever and then move on (or not).

Scott

[goertzen29]

Alright I'll try to find somewhere to place the trap a ways above the ground, and I have the lemongrass oil and some old frames...

but I am still wondering, if the swarms do not get caught does anyone know how far they go?  I understand Honeybees swarm by design...they work toward it, so in my mind it would make sense that the swarm may try to move beyond normal travel of the parent hive, (so they arent competing for forage) but maybe I'm way off.  I'm just interested. 

I am also wondering if my hives swarm am I eventually going to make enemies with the neighbors when my bees move into their outbuildings/houses.....

I live in rural Nebraska so the cover for bees is limited to a few fence rows and peoples yards/houses....

[JP]

I reckon they go as far as they need to, but I've run across many that were very close to the parent hive. I would set my first swarm trap 40-50 yds out, another 100 and one in the same yard. Bees are attracted to bee yards, its perfectly logical for them to come right on in. I've seen this happen twice in my own yard.


...JP

[BjornBee]

When a swarm first exits from the hive, it almost always is within eyesight of the parent colony. Usually within 100 yards.

They then send out scouts looking for a new cavity if one has not already been located prior to the swarm.

If no suitable housing is found, a swarm may: 1) Be stranded for a period of time, making the swarm location their location, in which they start building an open air colony. 2) relocate to another place and regroup again clustering, and sending out scouts. They may move anywhere from 1/4 to 1 mile in each move.

If given a choice, bees will relocate an average of about 900 meters from the parent colony. They prefer a sight off the ground 8-15 feet due to predators, a cavity size equivalent to about a deep and a shallow in volume, and one located in the shade. They will avoid locations with light from above (rain and heat retention issues), one that is already occupied (wasps. etc.), or have moisture issues.

With all that said, that all depends if multiple suitable nesting locations are available. With little choices in the lack of old world growth forrests, etc., bees will select locations anywhere from the next empty hive sitting three feet away from the parent colony, to other odd locations.

But we do know from controlled studies, bee prefer a certain distance, a certain size, etc., and they will be very picky between competing location if multiple locations are available. That is why to give you the BEST chance of success, you should meet as many of the options that bees prefer.

[goertzen29]

Thanks BjornBee, that was exactly what I was looking for, those studies would be interesting to read if there are links. 

[BjornBee]

Thank you.
Most of them were conducted through Cornell University. I think they have an archive of all of it. I looked up many in the past, but did not bookmark it. So I do not have links. Sorry. Original work was done by some like Roger Morse and Richard Bonney.

Much of the information was printed in a book (out of print) if you could find one somewhere.
ISBN: 0-936028-09-2

Dave Tarpy also did some swarm trap studies that followed up on some of the earlier findings. It focused on the communications and the details of how they find a home, etc.