Spring has sprung, and so have the honeybees. This time of year is known as swarm season. All winter bees have been in their hives existing from the honey they produced before winter.
Come early spring, the queen bee has been busy laying larvae that will become the workers and drones of the colony. Soon she will have produced so many new bees that the hive becomes too large to manage. When the hive gets too big the bees no longer smell the original queen and thinking she is dead they create a new one.
There can’t be two queens in a colony. So, after the new queen bee is made, the original queen bee leaves with about half of the colony to find new digs – hence the swarm.
What do you do if you see a swarm of bees?
If you see a huge clump of bees together, this is a swarm. They often land on trees and sidewalks to rest while the scout bees leave to check things out and to try to find a new home for them. The queen bee is protected somewhere in the middle of the swarm. When she gets tired, she stops for a rest, and so does the whole bee gang.
A swarm of bees is truly a sight to see. And though it seems scary, they are usually pretty docile. Little Giant Beekeepers gets calls for swarms located on cars, sidewalks, and office buildings. Most of the time, they will move on to the next place.
We usually tell people to wait 72 hours and see if they move on their own. Sometimes they don’t leave or are in a location that is dangerous for them or people around. Little Giant Beekeepers can come and relocate a swarm to a safer place.
If you see scouting bees around your house
What you do want to be aware of is if you see scouting bees around your house. Scouting bees leave the swarm to look for a new place to make their colony. They often fly around a house trying to find a hole into a void, like an eave to make their new home. So, if you start to see multiple bees going into a hole in the side of a window or eave beware, they might have started a colony.
Your beekeeper and removal specialists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
If you have a swarm around your house, call Little Giant Beekeepers and we can talk about the next steps in protecting your home from a swarm moving in. We can come safely remove the swarm for a fee and relocate them to an apiary, so you don’t have to worry about them moving into your structure…never fun for a homeowner! Call 972-980-0923.
