When you hear the words, “a swarm of bees”, what images does your mind conjure up? Like many, I used to imagine an apocalyptic event consisting of angry, stinging insects flying around and determined to eradicate humankind from the face of the earth. OK, OK, so I’m exaggerating a bit. But, I’m sure you’ve heard of or thought of something similar. The facts about swarms are quite different. The picture below is what a classic swarm of bees looks like hanging from a branch of a pine tree.
A swarm of honey bees is simply a natural way that a colony propagates itself. A "prime swarm" normally issues from a healthy hive that has overwintered successfully. In the spring, when a colony swarms, about 60% of the colony’s population, including the queen, leave the original hive and go to search for another home. They leave behind food stores and the means for a new queen to take over the old location. Before they leave the hive, the swarming bees consume about 7 days’ worth of nourishment, providing them time to locate a new domicile. Because of this, swarms are normally very docile--their bellies are so full that they couldn't curl themselves up to sting you if they wanted.
After they leave the original hive, the swarming bees will move to a temporary location, usually the branch of a tree or sometimes the side view mirror on a car, whatever is convenient. While there, at the temporary location, the bees are most vulnerable. It can be intimidating, so some people kill them with insecticide or spray them with water. Not only are the poor honeybees fighting the elements of bad weather, but also the fears of human beings who think of them as a nuisance or even a menace or use them for target practice.
The best thing to do if you ever see a swarm of bees hanging from a tree limb is to contact a beekeeper. If you don’t know one, just do a simple search on beekeeping clubs in your area, find someone to call and likely you’ll have a beekeeper show up within an hour. Capturing swarms is generally a large benefit to a beekeeper, and also to the bees. So beekeepers are usually very motivated to grab a swarm if they can. If for some odd reason, nobody shows up, just leave them alone. They’ll leave. Again, it’s a temporary place for them to hang out till they find a permanent home. Oh, and beekeepers usually don't charge for picking up swarms. Structural removals are a different story because they are difficult and time-consuming. Here's a picture of a structural removal where a swarm of bees took up residence inside someone's house.
The main point I want to make is don’t be afraid of the bees. You don’t want to allow the kids to throw footballs at them or spray them. Nor do you need to hide your kids. Normally they are docile. To experiment with that, I have actually stuck my bare hand in the middle of a several swarms, multiple times, and guess what? No stings! Not one. Really. PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF. You must understand that I had been working with bees for about five years before I even attempted it. So I had the confidence and experience to do it. Here's a picture of me reaching inside a swarm. In this picture, I'm not just out to prove how brave (or stupid) I am by sticking my hand inside the swarm, there was a purpose. I was trying to find the queen to make it easier to capture the swarm. Cool huh?
