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Missing BeesAre these missing bees, or are they just slow to react? I'm not talking about the serious problem of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), but something less significant but no less interesting. People have observed honeybees doing a waggle dance within their hive as long go as Aristotle and attempting to interpret the purpose. Although still somewhat controversial, most beekeepers have come to the conclusion that the workers are foragers, passing on information upon returning to the hive, having found a plentiful source of pollen or nectar.Today I observed something which I've never seen before and not expected. Last night I noticed a small swarm of honeybees in a neighbor's Bottle Brush bush. I intended to collect the swarm this morning since it was to cold last night, even in San Diego, since it is the beginning of January. When I took a look this morning I found that the swarm had left, but a few bees remained, either they were out scouting when the missing bees departed or were too cold to follow.
I noticed that there were one or two bees which seemed to join the small group on the branch which proceeded to do a dance very similar to the famous bee waggle dance. Since there are only a few bees left, what is the purpose of the dance? Clearly it cannot be to indicate a source of forage since there is no actual colony, there probably wasn't more than 20 bees, at most, remaining. 
The only conclusion I can come to is that this was a member of the relocated swarm returning to tell the stragglers where their new home is. I had always assumed that any individual bees which were away from a swarm, scouting for a suitable new home, would either remain bewildered on the vacated branch until they died of dehydration or return to their original 'parent' colony. If this is the case I will feel much happier if I have to leave some of the members of a swarm behind when taking a newly caught swarm home with me. If, like me, this has prompted a few thoughts about the coming swarm season perhaps you might be considering the idea of trying a KTBH, for Kenya Top Bar Hive kits and other supplies click here. If anyone has observed similar behavior or have an ideas or comments I would be pleased to hear them. Please click here to leave the Missing Bees page and go to the Contact page. Click here to sign up for our Free Beekeeping Course |
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