Sunday, April 3, 2011

two swarms on back-to-back days.


Like my previous swarm experiences, these 2011 swarms took off at around 1PM, and the swarm departure excitement lasted only a few minutes. This is the first year that I have seen two swarms from the same hive on back-to-back days.

Assuming that each swarm carries away 73% of the parent hive workforce.  Then after two swarms, I'm left with just 7% of the original parent hive workforce. In hindsight, perhaps I should have split this hive, but despite two swarms, this hive is still the most flight vigorous of my two hives. Both swarms spent the night high in a tree and then vanished the next day.  Too bad the swarms did not choose my swarm traps as their new home.