Honey Bee Swarms and Colonies
10,000 Bees into a box in 45 seconds!
Swarm season-Spring-throughout the east coast
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What causes bees to swarm?
A swarm is part of the natural process of the bee superorganism to reproduce. Usually caused by a colony feeling crowded or other stressors, the queen leaves with a large contingent of workers to search for a new home, usually just as a new queen (or queens) emerge in the colony. There may be more than one swarm that emits from the same colony.
Did you know?….
The first swarm is called the Prime Swarm.
The second swarm is termed an Afterswarm or Cast.
A third swarm is named a Colt.
If a fourth swarm leaves, it is called a Filly.
NOT honey bees…look closely….paper wasp nest.
Watch the episode of HGTV’s “Fixer to Fabulous: Welcome Inn” which aired 3/15/22.
Unexpected massive honey bee colonies found in the columns at front of house.
Watch as the rehabbers try to deal with the removal!
An example from our friends in Perth, Australia as to what could happen if people just use insecticide to kill a colony, without removing the comb and honey within. In hot summer temperatures (without any bees present to maintain a lower ambient temperature), the wax cappings will melt, causing a terrible mess within the walls and baseboard of a home, then leaking into the living area. They eventually opened the wall and removed over 200 pounds of mess!
Always be sure to deal with a reputable technician who will plan to remove the bees AND the honey comb! Killing the bees alone will not solve the problem.
Might be a slight delay in driving to work today…
Beautiful backlit photo!
Working on comb-building
Open-air colony progressing, but long-term success is doubtful.
HUGE swarm
https://www.facebook.com/melbournebeeremover/videos/1734393576749200/
Great video on creating swarm habitat by hollowing out tree trunks and returning them to the wild for bee swarm habitation
Swarm on a peach tree.
Okay Swarm about 25’ high in a tree.
Massive, “draping” swarm!
A flurry of bees in the apiary during an inspection.
Open-air comb building. It will not be easy for this colony to survive in the open.
Open comb building in the ceiling joists.
Now that’s some wonky comb. The bees don’t always follow a blueprint when building. They create what best suits their needs.
Probably a HUGE colony behind this wall in an old building.
Standard honey bee.
The three classes of honey bees.
Open comb building
swarms often land in the darnedest places
classic swarm configuration
good cross-section of a frame found in a honey bee colony. Resembles a cross-section of a hard-boiled egg. The brood cells in the core with pollen cells (not easily seen here) with an outer ring of capped honey.
never know what lurks behind the wall!
Between the walls is always a challenging removal!
Very healthy-sized swarm
Looks like a swarm on a grapevine
Head into the box, ladies!
Medium size
an established colony under a porch landing
Large swarm high in a tree
Swarms can be found everywhere… even in downtown Manhattan! NYPD Beekeeper pulls em in. Photo credit to andrewshoney
Even in a busy urban setting, bees will swarm
Pedestrians go about their business, while the bees take a break from house-hunting.
Some folks notice the resting bees.
NYPD actually has a designated beekeeper to tend to this.
Officer has a fancy bed vacuum ( persuader) to gather the bees and relocate them.
Notice the lack of protective gear ( not recommended for you) by the beek. Swarming bees are USUALLY pretty docile, since they’re not guarding any honey. But…you never know.
This will NOT be an easy extraction.
Difficult to say, until they open the soffit and roof, how extensive this colony is. May have been there for a long time, and the colony may be extensive with the large protected area available for colony-building under the roof.
WAY up there!
Capturing a “low” swarm. Dedko to the rescue!
Sometimes the bees won’t cooperate and you have to scoop them by hand.
Way up there!
Be mindful when mowing the lawn! This swarm was only about 2-3′ above ground.
Relatively small swarm and relatively close to the ground—2-3′. It can be alarming to the homeowner if he accidentally bumps into the swarm and sets off a flurry of thousands of startled honey bees!
The queen is in there somewhere?!
One jumbo-size swarm!
If you’re every LUCKY enough to witness this, it is an amazing spectacle. Thousands of bees in flight!
THAT is a decent size “sling” swarm.
VERY healthy size swarm.
Can’t even begin to imagine what the attraction was to the bees to stop on a metal mailbox! The owner does have a good reason for not paying their bills this month, though.
Always try to identify the insect you have before you call for help. If you’re still not sure , take a photo and send to me at 610-349-9597. It helps me to assess your situation. These are the most likely usual suspects.
A discarded, neglected chest of drawers becomes the perfect colony site.
Tricky removal because of the electric power.
Jump!—Jump!—Jump!—…
A swarm behind the electric service box.
Acrobatic, cooperative ability to hold cluster in a cohesive way. That takes cooperation!
A MAJOR extraction job here in an interior home wall. The comb, bees and honey have to be removed to complete the job properly.
The major structural components of a honey bee.
The vast majority of native bees that you may encounter are ground-dwellers. Honey bees form colonies above ground.
Items typically seen on an active honey bee colony frame comb.
An alternate format of beekeeping, this is known as a top-bar frame. The bees are free to create their own comb down from the “top bar” of the frame. A more traditional frame has a wax or plastic format for the bees to build from.
Swarm on an airport runway guide light standard. Thanks to Ray Rentchler.
A swarm temporarily placed in a nuc box to potentially being placed in a larger permanent box.
https://youtu.be/OeSEjVqxYko
Follow the above link to see a video of a colony removed from inside a brick wall.
