Honey bees in swarm mode are truly a spectacle to behold. The very distinct loud buzz and the swirling cloud of this superorganism can make anyone stop in their tracks to bear witness to this phenomenon of nature.
But, just what is a swarm exactly? A swarm is simply bees looking for new real estate. It is the method by which colonies reproduce and how they preserve their genetics. Typically, only strong colonies will swarm, but that doesn’t mean others will not.
A colony will decide weeks ahead of time to swarm and will start making preparations for their big launch. Normally, they are starting to feel congested and prepare for the colony to be able to carry on once approximately two-thirds of the adult bees leave the nest. The workers chase the queen around to help her slim down and the nurse bees won’t feed her as much. The queen needs to be able to fly. Swarm cells, future queens, are constructed and the larvae inside are fed a substance called royal jelly by the nurse bees. This nutrient-rich food is made in the nurse bees’ hypopharyngeal (forehead) gland. This royal jelly diet helps the larvae develop ovaries.
Scout bees during this time have been flying all over the area in search of suitable nest cavities (hollow tree, inside a wall structure, swarm trap).
Once the swarm cells are capped, the bees are ready to take off. The bees will load up on honey before departing. They must gorge themselves on food so they have resources to build comb in their new “house.” This allows the queen to continue the lineage by laying eggs. Swarms are primed to build comb very quickly and get settled in a timely manner.
When the time comes, a mass of adult bees and a queen depart the nest to a ‘bivouac’ or temporary spot where they cluster and finalize where they are moving. This is usually within sight of the old hive. They are generally very docile during this activity. Here, scout bees assemble on the exterior of the cluster and perform waggle dances advertising their favorite picks for a new home. This recruits other scout bees to check out the recommended domiciles. During this process, the colony’s scouts ultimately vote by dance volume for where they are moving.
In the meantime, the queen larvae continue to develop inside the swarm cells that were left behind in the original home, whether it be a hive box, tree cavity, or elsewhere. It takes 16 days from the time the egg is laid to cell emergence. Once she has emerged, she will typically battle other virgin queens to the death and sting the other cells to kill any sisters inside. The winning virgin queen will need time to dry out and harden before she is ready to take flight. When the time is right, she will fly out to drone congregation areas where lots of drones (male honey bees) are waiting, eagerly seeking out virgin queens. This is called a mating flight.
The virgin queen will mate with many drones, typically 15-20. Mating with a virgin queen is the sole purpose of the drone. During the mating process, his genitals will be separated from his body and he will fall back to the earth. He will die victorious.
The newly-mated queen will begin laying eggs a few days later and the life cycle has been renewed.