Earthquakes and bees

[goatmanbees]

I've heard about dog and other animals acting strange or going missing before an earthquake.
Has anyone observed or heard stories of earthquakes affecting honey bees?
Just curious.

Bill

[brushwoodnursery]

I heard a bunch absconded just before Hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey, New York area.

[Kathyp]

I heard a bunch absconded just before Hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey, New York area.

don't know, but maybe some of the CA folks can say.  interesting thought because i have had lots of swarm calls when we have had bad t-storms.  i was going with the pressure change cause.  would love to know if they react to the earthquakes.

[Jeanette]

I found reference to a book written in 1996 "Ted Miller's Earthquake Prediction Handbook" claiming that:
"Bees have been seen evacuating their hive in a panic, minutes before an earthquake, and then not returning until fifteen minutes after the quake ended. Even creatures such as millipedes, leeches, squid, and ants have been reported to exhibit abnormal behavior prior to earthquakes."
http://users.lycaeum.org/~maverick/quake.htm

There is also an article on the Caltech website that mentions bees swarming before an earthquake:
"For many organisms, behavioral action taken prior to an earthquake could reduce mortality: fish and cetaceans leaving coastal zones, rodents
exiting from collapsible burrows or dwellings, bees swarming, parents delaying egg-laying, etc."
Earthquake Prediction by Animals: Evolution and Sensory Perception
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~jkirschvink/pdfs/earthquakeprediction.pdf

[Finski]

don't know, but maybe some of the CA folks can say.  interesting thought because i have had lots of swarm calls when we have had bad t-storms.  i was going with the pressure change cause.  would love to know if they react to the earthquakes.

When bees swarm, they have decided that happening 2 weeks ealier when the queen lays into queen cells.

I have wondered that what signal they get when several hives start to do same things.

.

[Stromnessbees]

earthquakes - HAARP ?

[goatmanbees]

Thank you everyone for the replies.  Absolutely fascinating!!!!

[Finski]

.
It is like corn circles. Even if 2 men told 1991 how they have done them, today we still look TV programs how aliens have done them and they are some energy centres.

.

[Kathyp]

When bees swarm, they have decided that happening 2 weeks ealier when the queen lays into queen cells.

sure, but i have wondered if timing was influenced by weather, specifically the pressure changes.  otherwise, it seems like a dumb time to swarm right when a t-storm is coming.  it might be wise time to get out of the way if a tornado were coming.  that's also preceded by pressure change.

[Kathyp]

earthquakes - HAARP ?

right, because there weren't any before that   :-D

[Finski]

When bees swarm, they have decided that happening 2 weeks ealier when the queen lays into queen cells.

sure, but i have wondered if timing was influenced by weather, specifically the pressure changes. 

swarming pressure, yes---
.

[jack rabbit]

I'd like to revive an older thread--has anyone seen a connection between bee behavior and earthquakes?  Yesterday my bees were unusually active-- probably 20x the usual activity at the entrance of the hive.  Last night (12 hours later) we had a 6.1 earthquake.

[Kathyp]

Thanks for digging this up.  interesting stuff.

jack, can you go into your profile and put your location....you might just as well be in Chili for all we know   ;)

[GSF]

welcome JR, ditto the location thing

[Dallasbeek]

Thanks, Jack, for reviving this thread.  Like many, I had missed it when I looked at old threads.  But I'll second Kathy's recommendation that you put your location in your profile.  I doubt you're in Chile, but you could be anywhere in the world.

[Packrat3wires]

Do you live in California?   Please post location

[LaurieBee]

Welcome Jack Rabbit. I hope you fared well through the earthquake. And welcome.

[Steel Tiger]

 From what I've read, the early earthquake alarms gave about 10 seconds. That's enough time for people to ask "What's that noise?" before it hit.