Quote Originally Posted by mbc View Post
actually witnessing it happening takes the luck of the stars aligning.
Should have bought a lottery ticket! Sunday early afternoon, warm and calm (not me I was panicking about losing swarms) and I noted what seemed like alot of drones around two frame mating nucs and other colonies. Then, not once, not twice but three times in succession, two of the mating nucs and one colony, bees rushing out and creating a swarming effect just above the garden. Bees flopping down on leaves but never congregating into a mass, then after 10-15 minutes lots of fanning and bees return home. I watched but did not see any Qs returning, did not see any drone comets but the timings are all perfect for mating flights. Never seen this before but then I'm maybe not around when this happens. I cannot prove this is AVM but certainly follows descriptions given in this thread. Great to see actually. I will not be disturbing the colonies for at least another week or two.