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Swarms

Swarming is the process by which a new honey bee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees. About 60% of the worker bees leave the original hive location with the old queen. A swarm can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees.

 

Swarming is mainly a spring (April/May) phenomenon but occasional swarms can happen throughout the producing season. Several of our members have volunteered to collect local swarms of honey bees when reported by the public.

 

Here are some useful links to information about bee swarms to help you decide if you have a honey bee swarm:

 

The British Beekeepers Association swarm pages “Do you have a honeybee swarm?”

MBBKA swarm poster : A swarm of honey bees; what should I do?

MBBKA info sheet:  MBBKA Honey Bee Swarms

 

Please remember that our beekeepers are volunteers and that there are certain circumstances where we cannot help, for instance if the swarm is established within the fabric of a building or high up in trees.

swarm