,A FERAL HONEY BEE COLONY IS A MANAGED SPECIES LIVING WILD3 A SWARM THAT LEFT A BEEKEEPER'S BOX1 BIVOUACKED ON A BRANCH1 AND MOVED INTO A CAVITY TO RAISE BROOD1 BUILD COMB1 AND OVERWINTER ON ITS OWN RESERVES4 ,NORTH ,AMERICA'S FERAL POPULATION IS AS OLD AS THE COLONIES SWARMS ESCAPING COLONIAL SKEPS WERE DRIFTING AHEAD OF SETTLEMENT BY THE #AGJJ;S1 AND FOR THREE CENTURIES WILD HONEY BEES WERE SIMPLY PART OF THE CONTINENT'S FAUNA4 ,THE NEST ,TOM ,SEELEY'S WORK ON SWARM BIOLOGY ESTABLISHED WHAT A FERAL COLONY ACTUALLY WANTS3 A HOLLOW OF ROUGHLY #BJ#HJ LITERS A TREE CAVITY1 A ROCK CREVICE1 OR " A WALL VOID1 SOFFIT1 OR CHIMNEY WITH A SMALL1 DEFENSIBLE ENTRANCE4 ,SCOUT BEES EVALUATE CANDIDATE CAVITIES AND REACH A QUORUM DECISION1 ONE OF THE BETTER-STUDIED EXAMPLES OF GROUP DECISION-MAKING IN ANY INSECT4 ,INSIDE1 THE COLONY BUILDS ITS EXPOSED-COMB ARCHITECTURE THE HANGING PARALLEL COMBS OF THE CLASSIC IMAGE AND SETS TO THE BUSINESS OF A FREE-LIVING COLONY3 HOARDING ENOUGH HONEY TO SURVIVE WINTER1 SWARMING AGAIN IN SPRING1 AND " DEFENDING THE NEST WITH NOTABLE VIGOR4 ,THE VARROA BOTTLENECK ,FERAL HONEY BEES WERE CONTINENTALLY COMMON UNTIL THE #AIHJ;S#IJ;S1 WHEN VARROA DESTRUCTOR ARRIVED AND DID TO THE UNMANAGED POPULATION WHAT IT STILL DOES TO UNTREATED HIVES KILLED MOST OF THEM WITHIN A FEW SEASONS4 ,THE FERAL CENSUS CRASHED ACROSS MOST OF THE RANGE1 AND FOR A DECADE OBSERVERS TREATED THE WILD HONEY BEE AS EFFECTIVELY GONE4 ,THEN THE SURVIVOR SIGNAL APPEARED4 ,SEELEY'S LONG-TERM POPULATION MONITORING IN ,NEW ,YORK'S ,ARNOT ,FOREST A SITE WHOSE FERAL COLONIES HE HAD SURVEYED SINCE BEFORE VARROA DOCUMENTED THE POPULATION STABILIZING AND PARTIALLY RECOVERING DENSITY1 AND SHOWED THAT THE SURVIVING BEES HAD SHIFTED GENETICALLY3 NATURAL SELECTION1 RUNNING FREE IN THE WOODS WITHOUT A BEEKEEPER'S INTERVENTIONS1 HAD PRODUCED COLONIES THAT COEXIST WITH THE MITE4 ,THE RESULT BECAME THE SCIENTIFIC CORE OF 8,DARWINIAN BEEKEEPING0 THE ARGUMENT THAT FERAL COLONIES ARE A RESERVOIR OF VARROA-ADAPTED GENETICS THE MANAGED POOL BADLY NEEDS4 ,NEIGHBORS THAT WANTED THE CAVITY ,THE ECOLOGICAL COST OF A CONTINENT FULL OF WILD HONEY BEE COLONIES IS1 IN PART1 COMPETITION FOR HOLES4 ,THE CAVITY MARKET IN ,NORTH ,AMERICAN FORESTS IS UNDERSUPPLIED3 WOOD DUCKS1 KESTRELS1 SCREECH OWLS1 SQUIRRELS1 RACCOONS1 NATIVE CAVITY-NESTING BEES1 AND DOZENS OF OTHER SPECIES ALL NEED HOLLOWS1 AND A HONEY BEE COLONY THAT OCCUPIES ONE HOLDS IT YEAR-ROUND AND DEFENDS IT EFFECTIVELY4 ,WHERE FERAL DENSITIES ARE HIGH1 THEY ARE NOT MERELY SHARING THE LANDSCAPE THEY ARE HOLDING REAL ESTATE IN IT4 ,THE SAME LOGIC INDOORS IS THE SUBJECT OF HONEY BEE INFESTATION THE WALL VOID THAT SUITS A COLONY EQUALLY WELL IS A STRUCTURAL AND SOMETIMES A STINGING PROBLEM FOR THE PEOPLE INSIDE4 ,THE SOUTHERN STORY ,IN THE SOUTHERN TIER THE FERAL POPULATION IS INCREASINGLY ,AFRICANIZED THE DEFENSIVE LINEAGE THAT REACHED ,TEXAS IN #AIIJ NOW DOMINATES WILD COLONIES FROM THE ,SOUTHWEST THROUGH ,FLORIDA4 ,FERAL COLONIES THERE ARE COMMON1 VIGOROUS1 AND MORE LIKELY TO TREAT APPROACH AS PROVOCATION THE REASON REMOVAL CALLS IN THOSE STATES CARRY A DIFFERENT RISK PROFILE THAN A GENTLE SWARM ON A BRANCH IN ,NEW ,JERSEY4 ,REFERENCES - ,SEELEY ,HONEYBEE ,DEMOCRACY "<#BJAJ">2 ,FOLLOWING THE ,WILD ,BEES "<#BJAF"> - ,ARNOT ,FOREST LONG-TERM FERAL-POPULATION STUDIES - ,CRANE ,THE ,WORLD ,HISTORY OF ,BEEKEEPING "<#AIII"> - ,CAVITY-NESTING COMMUNITY ECOLOGY LITERATURE ,SEE ALSO "9 ,HONEY BEES IN ,NORTH ,AMERICA ,HONEY BEE INFESTATION "9 ,AFRICANIZED HONEY BEE THE SOUTHERN FERAL STOCK "9 ,VARROA DESTRUCTOR THE BOTTLENECK AND THE RECOVERY "9 ,HONEY BEE COMPETITION WITH NATIVE POLLINATORS ,NATIVE BEES OF ,NORTH ,AMERICA