Swarming (honey bee)
Successful scouts will then come back and report the location of suitable nesting sites to the other bees.
Swarming is prevalent in both rural and urban areas, the latter is due to issues such as inadequate beekeeping.
When not properly managed bee swarms split off from their hive and find new homes in city infrastructure.
There, they cluster about the queen and send 20–50 scout bees out to find suitable new nest locations.
It is from this temporary location that the cluster will determine the final nest site based on the level of excitement of the dances of the scout bees.
As soon as the scout bees find a new home, swarm maintains its mantle temperature to 34-36 degree Celsius which is required for the flight.
This happens most often with early swarms that leave on a warm day that is followed by cold or rainy weather in spring.
Poor physical conditions such as entry of water into the hive, excessively high temperatures due to lack of shade or shortage of water, the proximity of bush fires or excessive disturbance can also encourage colonies to abscond.
[8] Being tropical bees, they tend to swarm or abscond any time food is scarce, thus making themselves vulnerable in colder locales.
It should be well protected from the elements, and have a small entrance (approximately 12.5 square centimetres (1.94 sq in)) located at the bottom of the cavity.
In order for a decision to be made in a relatively short amount of time (the swarm can only survive for about three days on the honey on which they gorged themselves before leaving the hive), a decision will often be made when somewhere around 80% of the scouts have agreed upon a single location and/or when there is a quorum of 20–30 scouts present at a potential nest site.
[10][11] (If the swarm waited for less than 80% of the scouts to agree, the bees would lack confidence in the suitability of the site.
[12][13] This collective decision-making process is remarkably successful in identifying the most suitable new nest site and keeping the swarm intact.
Beekeepers who are aware that a colony has swarmed may add brood with eggs that is free of mites.
The swarm is sprayed from the outside with a sugar solution (soaking the bees so they become too heavy to fly away) and then vigorously shaken off the branch.
The main cluster, hopefully including the queen, will fall onto the white sheet and the bees will quickly go for the first dark entrance space that is in sight, which is the opening of the nuc.
An organized march toward the opening will ensue and after 15 minutes the majority of bees will be inside the nuc.
Smoke will have the opposite effect on a clustered swarm as many bees will become agitated and fly about instead of settling down.
[further explanation needed] Swarm clusters, hanging from a tree branch, will move on and find a suitable nesting location in a day or two.
[22] Furthermore, these and other human activities such as the use of pesticides impact the possible nectar sites for bees to get food and pollinate flower.
[27] Bees are typically known for being managed in apiaries with feral, wild, bees assumed to have died from pathogens such as Varroa destructor which can decimate colonies if left untreated, Despite this researchers Bila Dubaic et al. have discovered numerous feral swarms in urban areas.
[28] Particularly in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, an analysis over seven years uncovered a total of more than five hundred verified swarms reported by the public.
Upon further analysis the feral bee swarm prevalence was higher in areas of greater population density.
[27] Overall, the urban environment, although not being as optimal as natural habitats, provides enough substitutes through viable foraging and nesting sites.
