Bees have been in existence for millions of years and for millions of years they have swarmed. It is their way of making increase and a vital part of their life style.
A colony with a good queen builds up strongly, favorable weather contributes to their ability to store food and feed the Queen with Royal Jelly. The hive can become congested, especially at night when all the foragers are “at home”. The scents, we call them pheromones, which the Queen gives out and which are passed from bee to bee cannot reach all hive members. These pheromones inhibit the production of Queen cells. Lack of Queen pheromones and congestion lead the bees to construct acorn like cups on the combs. The Queen will be led to lay eggs in them.
Once the eggs hatch the larvae will be fed with a rich diet of Royal Jelly with more glucose than ordinary workers receive. The cells are lengthened to accommodate the growing Queen larvae and fed constantly. The Queen larvae actually float in food. On the seventh day the cell will be sealed by the bees and the Queen larvae will spin her cocoon and metamorphosis will take place. It only takes fifteen/sixteen days to produce a Queen and when she emerges she is a perfect insect, ready to fly.
The bees. Although they have built several Queen cells, rarely wait for the first one to hatch. On a fine dry morning, often at mid day, two or three bees will start a buzzing run, rushing up the face of the comb and bumping into other bees, spreading a growing excitement. They will fill their nectar sacs and eventually a whole mass of bees will erupt from the entrance like liquid brown water, whirling into the sky. They usually circle like this before settling, often on a tree but sometimes on a post or in a bush. It is when bees are flying that people become frightened, but they are full of honey, not aggressive and certainly not “out to get you” as one poor lady imagined when they settled on her window ledge. If bees do appear in your garden just tuck your head down, back off quietly and go indoors, shutting doors and windows. They can hang so quietly you could pass by without noticing them, but somewhere in the center of the swarm is the Queen, and there are tiny passageways in the center.
The scout bees are out looking for a suitable new home, and this can take time. If you do have a swarm in your garden please call Worthing Beekeepers Association and we will try to get to you as soon as possible. However, please bear in mind that removing swarms is a voluntary service some keepers MAY offer and many are also working people so please don’t be too impatient. Provided you do not interfere with the swarm the bees will not worry you or harm you. Most beekeepers make a small charge for collecting a swarm as the work is quite time consuming and often strenuous.
While the bees hangs quietly scouts will be flying back with messages, dancing on the comb to convey information. Eventually an agreement is reached and the swarm will take off led by the scouts and flying high and fast. Other scout bees will be at the new home, scenting with their Nasanov glands to guide in stragglers. Once inside the cavity, perhaps a deserted shed the bees will use the honey they took with them from the old hive to give energy to activate their wax glands, building new comb in which the Queen can lay eggs. She will also need good feeding as bees have to cut down on the food supply to their Queen who is about to swarm, otherwise she is too heavy to fly.
A beekeeper who collects a swarm will of course hive it in a suitable empty hive, and feed it after the second day to help the bees build new comb. Swarms can sometimes carry bee diseases with them so beekeepers will take precautions when hiving swarms of unknown origin.
Audrey Gibson-Poole
Training Officer
Contact number for swarms:
Steve Newport 01903 500 974