They will find strong surviving hives and move in with them. We can expect problems this fall with reinfestation of treated colonies from these swarms. The weak colonies that we now have as a result of the prolonged rain will probably lead to poor wintering success next winter. Beekeepers will have to really work their colonies over this fall to have them in good condition to winter and possibly will have to reduce the numbers and redistribute the brood in order to have colonies with sufficient bees to properly form a winter cluster. Art has bee yards about 15 miles east of the Niagara River.
Art migrates to Florida for the winter.
He has been aware of the SMB for two years in his hives. He fells that his hives are well isolated from others in Florida until he moves to the citrus groves for honey production in the spring. He feels that the beetles do not build as quickly when the hives are up in New York for the summer. He has not lost hives to the beetles to this point. We really had to look for the beetles by going right down to the bottom boards, but we could find some in every hive.