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Swarming
First rule when you see a swarm DON'T PANIC!
In normal years the bees swarm any time between May and the beginning of August.
Why do bees swarm.
This is quite normal behaviour for bees to swarm. In effect half the bees from the hive leave, along with the Queen Bee, and fly off to find a suitable new home and start a new colony. This is the method the bees use to increase their numbers. Before the bees leave the original hive the Queen lays several eggs that will be grow into new queens that will serve in the original hive.
We believe that what triggers this swarming behaviour can be an increase in temperatures, lack of space in the hive or maybe just a natural urge to create a new colony?
It is an unfortunate fact that a swarm of bees rarely finds a suitable new home and will normally perish.
When they swarm the bees fly up and around the hive in the sky. They look like a cloud of black insects in the sky all buzzing very loudly. The first swarm that you see can look and sound very threatening! In fact the bees are at their most docile at this point. Before leaving the hive the bees fill themselves with honey as they are unsure when they will be able to feed next. As with most creatures when they over feed they become most docile.
So that rule again IS DON'T PANIC!
At this point the queen usually lands somewhere, such as a tree branch, and the the rest of the bees usually cluster around her, similar in shape to say a rugby ball. They remain there whilst the scout bees find a suitable new home. They can remain there for one hour or even a day.
It is at this point that a bee keeper can use a simple technique to capture/collect the swarm of bees.
Bee keepers do not want their bees to swarm as they lose healthy honey collecting bees. More importantly we realise that few swarms will find a suitable new home and will simply all die.
First rule when you see a swarm DON'T PANIC!
In normal years the bees swarm any time between May and the beginning of August.
Why do bees swarm.
This is quite normal behaviour for bees to swarm. In effect half the bees from the hive leave, along with the Queen Bee, and fly off to find a suitable new home and start a new colony. This is the method the bees use to increase their numbers. Before the bees leave the original hive the Queen lays several eggs that will be grow into new queens that will serve in the original hive.
We believe that what triggers this swarming behaviour can be an increase in temperatures, lack of space in the hive or maybe just a natural urge to create a new colony?
It is an unfortunate fact that a swarm of bees rarely finds a suitable new home and will normally perish.
When they swarm the bees fly up and around the hive in the sky. They look like a cloud of black insects in the sky all buzzing very loudly. The first swarm that you see can look and sound very threatening! In fact the bees are at their most docile at this point. Before leaving the hive the bees fill themselves with honey as they are unsure when they will be able to feed next. As with most creatures when they over feed they become most docile.
So that rule again IS DON'T PANIC!
At this point the queen usually lands somewhere, such as a tree branch, and the the rest of the bees usually cluster around her, similar in shape to say a rugby ball. They remain there whilst the scout bees find a suitable new home. They can remain there for one hour or even a day.
It is at this point that a bee keeper can use a simple technique to capture/collect the swarm of bees.
Bee keepers do not want their bees to swarm as they lose healthy honey collecting bees. More importantly we realise that few swarms will find a suitable new home and will simply all die.
Are you interested in keeping Bees?
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Hire a Hive!
Check out the links below!
Hire a Hive!