What is a bee swarm?
Swarming is nature’s way of assuring the future of the honey bee. While normally in the spring, May to mid-July in the US Mid-West, the old queen along with half the worker bees leave to start a colony in a new location. The process starts during early spring as the colony begins to expand rapidly and the bees begin to feel over crowded. Worker bees, using the newly laid eggs by the queen, begin building swarm cups (replacement queen) and scout bees begin the process of looking for another location to call home.
Though a departing swarm can appear as a frightening sight to the average person, these 5,000 - 20,000 bees. along with the old queen are simply looking for a new place to call home. Though the queen is in the swarm, she is not leading the swarm. A swarms first stop is usually 100-200 yards from their original location. It is from this point that the scout bees will try to convince the group to follow them to their new location.
Where do bee's nest?
Honey bees will nest in a cavity that is large enough, usually 5-9 gallons in size, to set up housekeeping. Though we tend to think of bees living in trees, honey bees will live in any dark cavity that meet their size requirements. This could be wall cavities, floor joist, crawl spaces, barns, and many more man-made voids.
Once the scout bees have found suitable living arrangements, they will return to the main cluster and begin doing their bee dance to convince the group to follow them. The more intense the dance, the more likely the group is to follow them. Once the swarm reaches the new location, they cluster at the entrance while the bees rush through the opening to begin setting up housekeeping.
How much damage can bee's do?
Once bees become established, bees will begin the process of building comb for rearing bees and storing pollen and producing honey. If left to their own, bees will fill all available space with comb. Bees typically do not do any structural damage to buildings, they do however leave plenty of food and resources that invite other unwanted guests. Over time, honey could start leaking through walls or creating stains in drywall.
Classes &
Education
Merrie Lane Honey offers beginner beekeeping classes along with mentoring services.
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