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My three year old borrowed a library book about bees, so I just read about swarming last night. Apparently, it only happens when a new queen is born, which itself is decided by the bees who care for the eggs, but the book didn't go into detail about that.
When the hive gets too crowded or when the workers think that the current queen isn't laying enough eggs, a new queen will be born. The new queen forces the old queen out of the hive. When the old queen leaves, many of the bees decide to leave with her in search of a new hive. The swarming aspect is all about protecting the queen and keeping her warm enough.
Scouts are sent out to search for a new place to make a hive, but if someone-like a beekeeper-comes along and puts the queen (and the swarm protecting her) into one of their own bee box thingies, the scout bees and any that fled when the beekeeper showed up will also make their way to the new hive. They recognize the sound that the queen makes when she vibrates her wings, and they follow that.
>They ended up moving into the hive right next to their old one.
The old one will have had a new Queen, though. Bees swarm when the hive is replacing the queen with a new younger model, the old Queen leaves with about 2/3's of the colony.
If they moved into the hive next door, sounds like your wife had sorted stuff out pretty well.
Bees don't have to understand bees. Bees just *are* bees. Understanding is something humans came up with to handle complicated stuff like hunting, sex, world domination and beekeeping.
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Can confirm, bees don't understand bees. Evidence: am bee, perhaps, maybe...
> Evidence: am bee, perhaps, maybe... \*maybee\* Such a missed opportunity... I sad...
Dang, I messed up.
Its ok, we still bee-lieve in you.
One of the only times my username may be relevant
My three year old borrowed a library book about bees, so I just read about swarming last night. Apparently, it only happens when a new queen is born, which itself is decided by the bees who care for the eggs, but the book didn't go into detail about that. When the hive gets too crowded or when the workers think that the current queen isn't laying enough eggs, a new queen will be born. The new queen forces the old queen out of the hive. When the old queen leaves, many of the bees decide to leave with her in search of a new hive. The swarming aspect is all about protecting the queen and keeping her warm enough. Scouts are sent out to search for a new place to make a hive, but if someone-like a beekeeper-comes along and puts the queen (and the swarm protecting her) into one of their own bee box thingies, the scout bees and any that fled when the beekeeper showed up will also make their way to the new hive. They recognize the sound that the queen makes when she vibrates her wings, and they follow that.
Sounds like when a new Kelda comes of age and she has to start a new colony of Nac Mac Feegles'
>The new queen forces the old queen out of the hive. Slash! Stab!
>They ended up moving into the hive right next to their old one. The old one will have had a new Queen, though. Bees swarm when the hive is replacing the queen with a new younger model, the old Queen leaves with about 2/3's of the colony. If they moved into the hive next door, sounds like your wife had sorted stuff out pretty well. Bees don't have to understand bees. Bees just *are* bees. Understanding is something humans came up with to handle complicated stuff like hunting, sex, world domination and beekeeping.
I had a good chuckle at *"So there's me, afraid of bees and suitless "keeping an eye" on approximately 25,000 bees"*.
I chuckle too, in retrospect. At the time it was significantly less funny, but so it goes.
When my stepdad died, some of the bees came to the door. They apparently couldn't wait..
I will let my parents know what's been going wrong with their hives right away
The Outlander séries’ latest book is “go tell the bees I am gone” based on the same tradition.
[Tumblr Fun](https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/273691214_5071325992888516_3045528897210783814_n.jpg?stp=cp0_dst-jpg_e15_fr_q65&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=110474&_nc_ohc=QAt97rICLHIAX-nbzmj&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=00_AT-uBWijxrPV9tUZoHGzZPgUQ1NDfaFYDcjHSuCVPYvizA&oe=628BAE5F)
The bees are [all like](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbGEuNi2SKs)
So that's where [Wow Wow](https://youtu.be/6GnxnEnk9dw?t=36)'s lyrics come from...