THE SOUTH BUCKS HONEY BEE SWARM REPORTING SERVICE
is now closed for 2024
Mid Bucks BKA and High Wycombe BKA work together to provide a list of experienced beekeepers who are able, when the swarm is readily accessible, to retrieve and re-home a honey bee swarm.
If found and reported in good time, honey bees can often be successfully captured and re-homed into more appropriate accommodation.
Please note that our volunteers CANNOT help with bumble bees, wasps or any other insect or pest infestation. This service is ONLY for reporting honey bee swarms.
Honey bees can swarm from a warm early Spring through to a warm late Summer.
Swarming is the process by which a new honey bee colony is formed when some 60% of the worker honey bees leave the original colony location with the current queen and look for a new home. A swarm can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees and can look (and sound!), intimidating but are generally not aggressive as they have no hive or honey to protect, they are just in the process of moving house!
- The majority of swarming activity is April to June, although swarming can occur from March to September.
- A honey bee swarm can look (and sound!) very intimidating. But bees in a swarm are actually house-hunting, so can be less inclined to be defensive. However, a swarm on the move is quite chaotic, so it is possible to get stung by accident.
- Anyone with an allergic reaction to insect stings is advised not to approach a swarm, either on the move or if found clustered in a tree or hedge.
- If found and reported in good time, honey bees can often be successfully captured and re-homed into more appropriate accommodation.
Important: Please remember…
Our members are volunteers, so please understand that there will be situations where our members may not be able to retrieve a swarm, for instance if the swarm is established within the fabric of a building or high up in trees, and a professional pest controller may still be required. More information on what the BBKA recommend should you find honey bees within the fabric of a building can be found here – Bees in Buildings 2021 – v 14-4-2021
Our volunteers CANNOT help with bumble bees, wasps or any other insect or pest infestation. This service is ONLY for reporting honey bee swarms.
A quick note about “What Three Words“…
If and where possible, the use of the application “What Three Words” will provide a very accurate location of the swarm’s location and ensure the volunteer collector can quickly locate the swarm that has been reported. This can be vital to ensure no time is lost, reducing the chance that the swarm might abscond.
Are you reporting a honey bee swarm found…
...in South Bucks
The honey bee swarm collection volunteer map for South Bucks - Aylesbury to High Wycombe, is currently closed for this year and will reopen next year.
...wider Bucks or outside the county
To locate a swarm collection volunteer within Bucks or outside the county, please use the British Beekeepers Association Swarm Reporting page.