saving the wild hives

This is a cool project: an attempt to map feral bee colonies by something called the Feral Bee Project. Feral bees have been surviving without intervention from people and so may indeed hold some critical secrets for survivability. "Feral" in this sense means not managed by a beekeeper. It does not mean they are any meaner or wilder.

If you are wondering how to find one, there are some beelining tips on the page too.

I definitely hold to the theory that the feral colonies hold the secret to the future of bee survival. It is one reason I like to get swarms as much as possible. Ialso have four of my hives that I have never done anything to and VERY rarely even inspect, maybe once or a few times a year. They have thrived, made honey, and requeened themselves year after year, six years running. No chemicals at all, no medications, nothing except some very occasional powdered sugar dusted on them. I use these strong hives as sources for nucs and propagate these queens since clearly they have figured out how to survive. They are likely mating with some feral drones and that is a huge advantage.