bee-keeperSwarming is how bee colonies reproduce: an old colony splits in two, the old queen flies off with half the bees to found a new home, and a young queen stays behind in the old hive. From nature's point of view — perfect. From the beekeeper's — a loss, because the swarm that leaves takes half your workforce right before the main flow.
Why bees swarm
Swarming is triggered by several things that usually coincide in spring:
- Overcrowding — the hive is full of bees with nowhere to expand
- Many young nurse bees but little brood to keep them busy
- An old queen whose pheromone no longer reaches all the bees
- Warm, favourable conditions and abundant forage
When these line up, the colony starts raising queen cells and the decision is essentially made.
Signs swarming is coming
The most important sign is swarm queen cells — hanging, “peanut-shaped”, usually along the lower edges of the frames. When you see capped swarm cells, swarming is close (often within a week). Other signs: a densely packed colony, the queen laying less (she slims down so she can fly) and a “beard” of bees in front of the entrance.
How to prevent swarming
Prevention is always easier than the cure. The most effective measures:
- Give space in time — add supers and foundation before things get crowded
- Relieve the colony — move frames of brood to weaker colonies
- Make an artificial swarm (a split) — take some brood and bees from the queen and found a new colony; this satisfies the swarming urge under your control
- Replace the old queen with a young one — young queens swarm far less
What if queen cells are already being built
If you find swarm cells, simply tearing them down rarely helps — the colony will build new ones. It is better to make a split: move the queen with a few frames of brood and bees into a new hive, and leave one of the best queen cells in the old one. You have then “swarmed” the colony with your own hands and kept all the bees.
If a swarm does fly out
A swarm usually first gathers on a nearby branch as a cluster and stays there a while as the scouts look for a home. That's your chance: if you can safely reach it, shake it into an empty super with frames and you've got a new colony for free. In the app you can mark a hive as swarmed and create a new one (a split) linked to the parent queen, so you can track the lineage of your colonies.