800 swarm
hotline calls so far this year, of which over
360
were swarm calls.
The pink graph is year-to-date snapshot of the data from this year.
Not as many swarms as last year, but more than two years ago. (the
rains of 2023 made for an exceptional year)
(Reproductive) Swarm calls should flatten out this month.
Requeening or expanding your operation this year with a swarm is
becoming less likely.
So if you want new queens, then split from the best half of colonies
in your apiary,
or work out a deal with a friend to get some great queen cells,
or get queens or queen cells to renew your hives for best
probability of success getting through the winter.
Thank you to everyone who went the extra mile to retrieve a swarm
this year,
even if it was a swarm they didn't really need.
This year we don't seem to have many members who are still beeless
(unless they just now took up this game).
Thank you to the rest of the hotline volunteers for taking their
share of the calls.