Today’s guest article explains how beekeepers prevent bees swarming. But the author also explains why bees swarm, and how it affects the production of honey.
How To Prevent Bees Swarming
The springtime is the time when honeybees reproduce. The natural method of reproduction for honey bees is known as swarming. The springtime swarming period often goes on more or less three weeks. Generally one swarm of honey bees separate and becomes two through the swarming period.
Since swarming usually means a loss of production, beekeepers try to discourage the behavior. A technique that beekeepers use to prevent swarming is to introduce new bees every springtime to replace the bees that they turned out of the hives the previous autumn.
Another method often used by beekeepers to prevent swarming is to create a starter colony. Creating a starter hive, and then dividing it encourages bees to remain in their hives.
Several beekeepers feel that bees only swarm when they have great quantity of foodstuff in their hive. Beekeepers who subscribe to this concept utilize a technique known as checker boarding to prevent their bees from swarming. They remove a few of the full frames of honey, giving the bees the illusion that they don’t have any honey in stock, subsequently discouraging the bees from swarming.
It’s unusual for bees to swarm when there’s a new queen in the bee hive. As time passes and the queen becomes old the hive often prepares to swarm. Generally the elderly queen departs with the primary swarm, leaving one or more virgin queens in her place. When the elderly queen is preparing to swarm she stops laying eggs. She focuses on getting fit enough to fly. (The only other time the queen has flown was when she went out on her nuptial flight). As smaller swarms depart the hive, they are generally accompanied by the virgin queens on their nuptial flights.
After they first leave the hive in a swarm, bees do not typically go far away from the hive. After fleeing the nest the bees choose a close-by tree bough or an eave. The worker bees gather surrounding the queen, defending her. As soon as they have the queen protected, a number of bees, scouts, look around until they discover an appropriate hive to turn into their new home.
Several beekeepers see swarming as a method to refill their hives. A professional bee keeper has no problem catching a bunch of swarming bees. Beekeepers utilize a tool known as a Nasrove Pheromone to lure swarming honey bees.
When they swarm, honey bees carry no further food along with them. The only honey they’re permitted to take from the parent hive is the honey they consumed.
Even if they typically don’t go after individuals when they’re swarming, just the sight of a swarm of bees scares folks. It’s not uncommon for a beekeeper to be called out to catch a colony of swarming bees.
I remember returning home after a two week vacation to find my back pantry piled high with dead honey bees! Evidently, an opening attracted the bees as they were swarming, but for some reason they became trapped and died. I felt bad for the honey bees, but I have to admit I would probably have “freaked out” if I had opened the pantry door and found bees swarming everywhere!
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