# Swarming - Houseling ?



## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hi Guys,

I browsing was over at Bee-L http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/archives/bee-l.html
and was surprised to find a major proponent of organic/small cell suggesting that swarming was the bees response to negative factors! But when that beekeeper used Housel positioning to re-orient their hives, no more swarming occured because the bees were quite happy to stay where they were. 

I would have responded on Bee-L, but their computer system has automatically terminated my membership several times, at about two week intervals. So, I haven't tried to log on again.

My experience with swarming is quite the opposite of that expressed on Bee-L. Swarming is a method of colony reproduction and becomes rampant when conditions provide the best opportunity for survival. And that's when conditions are good.

In fact, to prevent swarming, most swarm control methods introduce a factor/stress that puts the colony out of balance.

Absconding, on the other hand, is the bees, particulary African bees, way of avoiding problems. They abscond when conditions get worse.

The symptoms and causes of swarming are completely different from those seen when bees abscond. To confuse the two and attribute a positive aspect to Houseling might lead to another interpretation. If swarming is being reduced, maybe Houseling or some other procedure is actually introducing some kind of stress, or diminishing the colonies in some way, which caused the bees to stop the swarming impulse.

If on the other hand, the process that's being stopped is actually absconding rather than swarming, giving the bees space, providing them with enough honey and minimizing disturbances usually works. It's a technique that's used with Africanized bees.

I haven't found any relation between the natural comb in my tbh and cell bottom orientation. See:
http://bwrangler.litarium.com/housel-positioning/ And I haven't noticed any effect upon the bees by arranging comb the Housel way.

Regards
Dennis


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

You didn't know that the combination of small cell and Housel positioning eliminate all swarming, brood diseases, mean tempered bees and mites? Where have you been the last few years? With these two innovations you just stack on the supers, on top of an unlimited brood chamber of course, and pull off huge quantities of honey.


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## guatebee (Nov 15, 2004)

Oliver, are those statements from your own personal experience? You make it sound simple, fool proof and right every time. Please let us know more.


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## Sasha (Feb 22, 2005)

guatebee, it seems Oliver aka odfrank is a little bit sarcastic.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

Not sure about this housel thing, but
I am noticing that the ferals do tend to draw horizontal cell comb for the first comb built, combs drawn after the center comb will have the Ys in a haphazard fashion, but 60% do tend to follow this housel positioning thingy, but this is probably within the realm of chance. 

Perhaps, the horizontal center comb could be a means by which a swarm can suppress mites during the crucial colony initiation stages. Horizontal comb is detrimental to varroa reproduction, and the presence of horozontal comb in the brood nest of feral colonies may perhaps explain their survival.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

-But when that beekeeper used Housel positioning to re-orient their hives, no more swarming occured because the bees were quite happy to stay where they were.

Well, I would imagine that the act of rearranging the combs to housel positioning in itself would tend to break up the broodnest and maybe free up laying space, both of which are established swarm suppression techniques.


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