What is a swarm?

A honeybee swarm is a natural process that honeybees go through. It is rare for the bees to sting during this period; swarms are usually quite gentle and can be handled by a beekeeper easily.  Honeybees are important beneficial insects, providing pollination for our food supply.  

Honeybees raise a lot of brood (baby bees). They continue to do this until their population has increased and things start to get crowded. Sometimes they swarm if a hive gets to hot.  They then issue what is called a swarm. It is headed by a queen, worker bees (female bees), and drones (male bees).

Before leaving the parent colony, they load up on honey reserves and fly off. They usually fly off to somewhere close by. This could be a branch of a tree, a mail box, a fence, or the corner of a canopy to just to name a few.

At this time, the honeybees are very docile as they do not have a home to defend. They are only temporarily at the spot as they are sending out what is called scout bees. These bees are kinda like real estate agents (except they don't get a commission). They are looking for a new home to take residents in.

After they find this place, they will come back to the swarm and try to persuade the other bees to follow. If they do decide to do so, they will take flight and move into their new home.

This process can take up to 3-4 days depending on the weather or it could take just one hour.

In my experience, swarms happen between April to late June. I notice that there are a lot of swarms that happen when nice weathers comes about, especially after a few days of rain.

Whatever the reason they swarm, remember they are only looking for a new home.  Contact me for their pickup and removal.