What are swarms?
If you have ever heard or seen a swarm in action, it can be a bit intimidating. Hearing the roar and seeing the cloud of bees swirling in the air is a phenomenon that many people consider themselves lucky to witness. Once the bees land in a tree or on another object, they can take on many shapes including a football or basketball, a baseball bat or an uneven clump. Honey bees need to reproduce, and to accomplish that, they swarm. It’s Mother Nature’s way of ensuring survival of the genetics.
What happens BEFORE they swarm?
In Oldham County, the swarm hotline starts ringing early spring with people reporting this incredible phenomenon. But there is a lot happening before they actually swarm! Research has shown that honey bees usually decide about four weeks in advance to make swarm preparations. The spring build-up provides them with nutritious nectar and pollen to feed their young. As the population builds, they start running out of room and can feel a bit congested. It’s time to find a new home! The bees will start the queen on an exercise program to help her slim down in preparation for flight. They will also slow down her food intake. They must make sure their queen is able to fly.
When does swarming season start?
The swarming season usually begins in April in Oldham County, Kentucky. If the area has a mild winter, swarming could start sooner. Scout bees will start searching for desirable places to set up a new residence. The scout bees do not differentiate between the hollow of a tree or a small opening in someone’s wall or porch column. Their desired square footage for their home is approximately 40 liters.
Scout bees will report back to the colony their findings. They communicate this via what is known as a waggle dance. The rest of the bees in the hive will pay particular attention to the coordinates that the waggle dance communicates.
The swarming process has begun!
The colony will start making swarm cells. Swarm cells contain larvae that have been fed a rich diet of royal jelly which will mature into a new queen. The cells hang low on the frame and look like peanuts still in their shell. Swarm cells provide the remaining bees the ability to raise a new queen when the old queen leaves with the swarm. Swarming usually occurs when the cells are capped, which is about day nine of the laying cycle. Right before they launch, the bees will gorge themselves on honey. The bees have to be able to set up their new home right away and stuffing themselves full of honey will allow them to immediately build (or draw) comb once they reach their new location. Approximately two-thirds of the bees in the colony will leave. Once they launch and the queen leaves with them, they typically leave the hive and land nearby, reassembling on a nearby branch or other structure. These balls of bees are called a “bivouac”. They are out in the open air and are vulnerable until they can make it to their new home. The scout bees begin searching. Sometimes it may take days before they find a suitable home. In rare cases they never find a home and end up creating an open air hive right where they are. Those open air hives are very vulnerable and having a beekeeper remove them will help the bees survive!
Sometimes, in very robust hives, there will be a second swarm, which is called a cast swarm and will have one or more of the virgin queens.
Meanwhile in the original hive a queen is born.
The capped queen cells that the swarming bees leave behind are the future for this colony. Before the cells were capped (a cap is created to close them off), nurse bees fed the developing larvae royal jelly that was produced in their hypopharyngeal gland. The nurse bees mix this thick, milky secretion with honey, pollen, and other substances and regurgitate it into the queen cells.
When fed the right amount of royal jelly, the larvae will develop ovaries which will be allowed to mature, thus producing a queen. The developing queens need approximately one more week inside the cell before they begin to emerge. Once a virgin queen emerges around day 16 of the laying cycle, she doesn’t have any queen pheromone just yet. That gradually develops as she hardens and dries. She is able to go on her mating flight about one week after emergence. She will fly to drone congregation areas (DCAs) to mate with many drones. She will then fly back to her hive accompanied by her entourage. The newly-mated queen will start laying eggs approximately one week after her mating flight, thus completing the swarm cycle.
Honey bees vs. “Ground bees”
Many well-meaning persons will call the swarm hotline to report a swarm when, in fact, what they are seeing are ground bees, also called yellow jackets. Ground bees are active in the fall. Although they live in a colony or nest in the ground, and also have a queen, they do not reproduce the way honey bees do.
Also, it is not uncommon to see honey bees hovering around flowers, plants and objects like patio furniture, trampolines and hummingbird feeders. They also love swimming pools and bird baths as water sources. They are always on the hunt for a new place to dine. Sometimes a keen observer will see scout bees checking out new places. This is particularly common during the months of April and May in Kentucky.
What to do if you see a swarm?
What do you do if you see a swarm? First of all, don’t panic. A swarm is simply made up of homeless bees looking for a new place to call home. Most swarms are docile. However, sometimes the bees will get “stuck” at a temporary resting place like a branch or fence post. When this happens, you will often see comb being drawn. At this point, especially if the weather is cool and rainy, the bees will most likely be grumpy. In either situation, it is best to call a local beekeeper, swarm hotline or your county’s extension office to handle the matter.
Honey bees are fascinating creatures and a prime example of one of nature’s most marvelous superorganisms. They are to be respected and admired for their contributions to gardeners, farmers and our food chain. Honey bees swarm in order to reproduce. Each bee has a specific job within the hierarchy to ensure their colony runs smoothly, even after they swarm. A series of events must be accomplished before and after the swarm launches to ensure continuation of the species.
Do you have questions about honey bees, swarms or just want to learn more? Please contact us at the Oldham County Beekeepers Association through the contact form or check out our events calendar to meet us in person and we will be happy to assist you.