The following post was written by lower Wallingford beekeeper, Kevin.
Honeybee swarming season is coming soon. Swarming is the natural way honeybee colonies reproduce. What happens is that during the winter of dormancy in the hive, the queen bee starts laying eggs and the workers raise the young as the colony starts ramping up their numbers for the upcoming spring’s bounty of flowering trees and plants. If and when a hive becomes too crowded, the hive decides to split in two. Colonies are considered by entomologists as superorganisms and reproduce similar to an amoeba splitting in two. The queen and half the bees leave the hive in search of a new home.
A swarm is a sight to behold -– thousands of bees leave the old hive in a cloud and coalesce into a solid group to wait while scout bees search for a suitable home. Despite thousands of bees being together in a group in the open, the bees are at one of the least aggressive stages of their life cycle since they have no home to protect. I’ve walked into several flying bee swarms and up to coalesced bee swarms with no problem (I try to wear a hat since individual bees can get stuck in your hair and panic – this could result in a sting.)
Swarming happens usually from mid-April through May, although late swarming certainly is possible. Beekeepers can control swarming by different methods, the most common being splitting the colonies in two when it looks like the bees are getting crowded. A second method is to give crowded bees more room by adding a box to the hive, much like adding another story to a home. Some beekeepers, especially novices, either haven’t quite learned to control swarming or they let their hives swarm as a ‘natural’ part of the bees’ life cycle. Bees can also be attracted to a ‘bait’ hive set up by beekeepers. Yes, you can put a hive ‘on the market’ and if you’re lucky, bees will check it out and move in.
What to do if you see a honeybee swarm? The 911 operators have a swarm list of beekeepers who will respond to swarm sites and remove the bees. Generally speaking, the bees must be accessible. Some swarm chasers will remove bees from walls, but this is a specialized operation. In the greater Wallingford area, if you see a swarm, you could give me (Kevin) a call at 206-861-4638. If the bees are fairly easily accessible, I can remove them. Also, if you have questions about bees, I can try to answer them.
Thank you so much for this posting. Bees are such an important species. As a kid I can remember being around 4 years old and catching bees in mason jars along with a bunch of other kids in the neighborhood. They would buzz around inside the jar and then we would let them go. I don’t remember being nervous or afraid at all. The quince bush was just alive with them. Oddly, they seemed to tolerate our childish interceptions without ever stinging anyone. It is gratifying to know about the folks who are cultivating their presence in Wallingford and being available to safely “intercept” them when they take up residence where they are not wanted or cause alarm.
how do we attract bees to our yards? we have some fruit trees that need pollination (I think)
So, you live in a very populated neighborhood and expose us to swarming bees? I really don’t think children, pets, the elderly would see this as a sight to behold when bees swarm them.
I have seen honey bees in large flying clusters occasionally in spring in east Wallingford for years. Up in the sky or up into a tree. I don’t see them as a threat and appreciate what they do for pollination. One way to keep honey bees out of one’s yard is to not have available water, if that is helpful.
Also, inviting Mason bees is fairly straightforward and they are great pollinators.
http://www.crownbees.com/mason-bees-newsletter-from-crown-bees/
I would be concerned if people were keeping yellow jackets . . .
The orchard stewards along the Burke-Gilman Trail in Wallingford installed three new mason bee houses to help with pollination of the fruit trees there.
Bumblebees are out lately looking for nest sites (that’s how it looks to me, anyway.) Wonder if there’s anything similar that can be done for them? Bumblebee houses, that is. I think they like tall grass, but I’m kind of hostile to grass myself, so hope there’s something else that will do.
I’d be concerned if people were keeping yellowjackets, too, would be like keeping mosquitos. But there are beneficial paper wasps that might look like yellowjackets to the casual observer, so inquire first – the neighbors might be more entomologically endowed.