Last year California was up in flames. Tough year for bees here on the west coast. It was the first year ever that I had a hive abscond, it was in the fall season. No doubt there was just no pollen and nectar to find. Colony and queen vanished.
I had a similar situation happen two years ago in the spring, but the queen was left behind.
Swarm? Abscond? Colony Collapse Disorder?
What is the difference?
Jen, this is a good question. I am adding my two cents worth for any beginners that might read this thread. And, that is what it's worth, 2 cents! When we lose a colony of bees it's always a good idea for the beekeepers to learn from the situation.
During a swarm, about 1/2 the bees will remain, and the old queen will go with the swarm. Queen cells will be present in the colony. When those cells are capped, and weather is good, they will swarm.
Absconding is a little more mysterious. A hive that absconds
could be a colony that is already weakened and small because a poor queen. Added stressors like a lack of forage, mites, SHB, skunks, yellow jackets, etc. make honey bees decide to relocate. Feeding during these times, should prevent absconding during times with no food sources. Proper spacing with in the hive could help too. The presence of brood can also anchor a colony to the hive. Sometimes they abscond leaving the nurse bees with the brood. That's when the beekeeper will open the hive to find a very small number of bees present.
CCD is even more complex and I don't profess to be an expert in any of this. Most likely CCD is a combination of factors. Pesticides, varroa and the 27 diseases they can bring with them, nosema, nutrition (or lack of nutrition), mite treatments applied by the beekeeper, etc. I envision the bees being so miserable that the only alternative is to get the heck out of there and hope that they leave the source of their misery behind. That is probably a good reason not to bother catching a swarm any later than July 1 (In my geographical area).
