# The Disposition Of Scout Bees



## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Fivej said:


> I have a swarm trap that is getting a lot of interest. I have noticed that some get testy when I get close. I assumed that scouts were in forager mode and were generally docile, but not so with these. Wondering if this behavior is indicative of the colony they are from, or just scout bee behavior. Maybe I don't want this bunch? J


They have committed to the trap.
Good news.
Wait for them and see. 

Why jump ahead of yourself?
Until the swarm actually shows up (IF) why the worry?


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Thanks Greg. Not worried, just wondering about their behavior. This is the first time I have had any interest in the trap. J


----------



## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

On occasion I have seen a couple of dozen bees appear to take up residence in a trap and then try to defend it. If a swarm didn’t move in, I always believed that these were scout bees that were on a scouting expedition to that box at the same time their swarm moved elsewhere to its new home leaving them abandoned. Finding their swarm gone, they returned to the last location stored in their memories.
Pure speculation on my part.


----------



## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

I indeed observed something similar - a handful of scouts seemed to have occupied a trap for a few weeks and just stayed in.

To my dismay, they have been chasing away all other potential scouts until eventually died off.
After the trap finally cleared, some other swarm eventually moved in.


----------



## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

GregV said:


> To my dismay, they have been chasing away all other potential scouts until eventually died off.


My observation as well.


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Hmmm. I wonder if that is what is going on. Today was the sixth day of them checking it out. I would estimate 20-30 bees. J


----------



## crab414 (Jan 6, 2020)

Same here. I've set up a second trap 40 feet away and that one is getting lots of interest. I'm seeing some real commitment issues...... Maybe the taxes are to high 😁


----------



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

crab414 said:


> Same here. I've set up a second trap 40 feet away and that one is getting lots of interest. I'm seeing some reall commitment issues...... Maybe the taxes are to high 😁


This is funny, crab414.

I echo the observations already made.


----------



## Trin (May 6, 2020)

Scout bees have found an old swarm trap 20 ft. into my pole barn. At least 30 bees going in and out and orienting to the location. Bees fanning at the entrance.

I did a hive check a few days ago and didn't find any swarm cells. However I simply tipped the bottom brood box and looked at the bottom of the frames of the largest hive. Top brood deep, went through all the frames. The queen in this one is a very prolific layer. Added 2 supers yesterday. 

I am wondering if some bees involved in the robbing going on in the barn nearby switched over to scouting? Maybe because of the lemongrass oil in the swarm trap? I had left some comb frames exposed that is getting a lot of robbing attention.


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Checked them out last night and they haven't taken up residence. Activity much less the past two days. I am beginning to think scouts are from a hive I have that is undergoing a Snelgrove split. They are a little testy and maybe the instinct to swarm is declining. So hard to tell which way they are coming and going from. J


----------



## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Fivej said:


> Checked them out last night and they haven't taken up residence. Activity much less the past two days. I am beginning to think scouts are from a hive I have that is undergoing a Snelgrove split. They are a little testy and maybe the instinct to swarm is declining. So hard to tell which way they are coming and going from. J


LOL


> Maybe I don't want this bunch? J





> Why jump ahead of yourself?


----------



## Yunzow (Mar 16, 2017)

I caught a swarm recently, and they were scouting the trap for five days before they moved in. While they were scouting, I noticed that they were not very pleased to see me whenever they noticed me, so I made sure to observe from a distance.

I was familiar with the swarm, because they had swarmed from one of my hives, whose behavior I would describe as pretty much always mellow.

So maybe the scouts aren't that mellow in the first place?



Fivej said:


> I have a swarm trap that is getting a lot of interest. I have noticed that some get testy when I get close. I assumed that scouts were in forager mode and were generally docile, but not so with these. Wondering if this behavior is indicative of the colony they are from, or just scout bee behavior. Maybe I don't want this bunch? J


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

I wish some more would chime in Yunzow, Greg, not sure what you find amusing and how I am jumping ahead of myself. I am simply asking for input on the disposition of scout bees and if their behavior reflects their colony's disposition. If I concluded that because these scouts are testy, they must be from my testy hive, I would be getting ahead of myself. J


----------



## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Fivej said:


> I wish some more would chime in Yunzow, Greg, not sure what you find amusing and how I am jumping ahead of myself. I am simply asking for input on the disposition of scout bees and if their behavior reflects their colony's disposition. If I concluded that because these scouts are testy, they must be from my testy hive, I would be getting ahead of myself. J


All good!
Fingers crossed you get yourself a swarm.


----------



## crab414 (Jan 6, 2020)

Six days ago I made up three five frame nucs and yesterday evening I had a small swarm move in on one. I've got a trap up in a tree, very few scouts and a nuc box with drawn comb getting some lookers and they chose the nuc. Oh well.
I'm at day five at the trap location with lots of scouts and I've got a swarm to collect that's been settled in for a week now 😊.


----------



## Trin (May 6, 2020)

After seeing the interest in the swarm trap in my barn I decided to go pull a few traps that had been taken down but left at a friends farm. Or so I thought, He said it was still up in the tree, so I thought that no success in 2 years I better pull it and check it out. 

My friend has 47ish acres of woodland on his farm and this trap was on the Southern edge. He was watching it during his frequent walks in the woods.

I'm guessing this was a late Summer/fall swarm. Bees starved to death. Their bodies are still flexible so it could have been a real early swarm from this year? Not a whole lot of comb built. Or a small swarm. The 4 frames are very dark comb and figured it was worth using in the trap rather than melting the wax down.
It's what I call cheap 'Walmart' swarm trap;


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

That's a shame Trin. More of the same with mine today. Since I have little else to do in the oppressive heat,I am observing the scouts arrival and departure. I divided the viewing area into quadrants to see if I can figure out where they are coming from. Watching for 15 minutes at a time. Will talley it tonight,but looks like the direction of my testy hive is in the lead,but not by an overwhelming amount. I suppose its possible that the scouts may be from multiple colonies. Anyone know? J


----------



## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Fivej said:


> .... I suppose its possible that the scouts may be from multiple colonies. Anyone know? J


Like I documented just recently, at one time the "black" scouts were fighting the "yellow" scouts over the same trap.
Not just possible, but demonstrated - "the scouts may be from multiple colonies".
In the end, rain stopped the War of the Roses to my disappointment.








Right now scouts showed up again, but different looking.


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Interesting, I will have to look that up Greg. Storms interrupted my effort also, but results were about 75% N (towards hives) 25% S


----------

