Managing Bee Swarms
What is a Swarm ?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (borrowing with honor!!)
The term swarm (shoaling, swarming or flocking) is applied to fish, insects, birds and microorganisms, such as bacteria, and describes a behavior of an aggregation (school) of animals of similar size and body orientation, generally cruising in the same direction. Group size is a major aspect of the social environment of participants.
Swarming of honey bees is a more specific term, referring to the reproductive action of an entire colony of bees (as opposed to the reproduction of single bees); see Queen bee and Honey bee life cycle.
Local Swarms
Honeybee swarms in our area tend to be found in both accessible and inaccessible locations within some proximity (10 to 100 yards) of the “parent” colony. Such a community of honeybees is a much prized and often elusive find for most beekeepers. Swarms of honeybees are collections of (typically) about 30,000 individuals who have “left home” due to overcrowding or other ecosystem limitations. The swarm that manifests itself on a tree branch is resting and sending out scouts in search of a new cavity in a tree or man-made structure that will afford them protection from the outdoor elements and where they can set up housekeeping in peace. Consequently, most swarms move on from where they are discovered every 12 to 36 hours until they find a new home. Swarms of honeybees (herbivores), unlike their carnivorous distant relatives of the wasp family (yellow jackets, hornets, etc.) are quite docile unless disturbed. At least they are currently, since honeybees in our region have not yet become “Africanized” and taken on the more defensive behaviors of that strain of honeybees. Your local beekeepers, as well as the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are constantly revising their practices in the effort to keep our regional honeybee population friendly , productive, and beneficial to our gardens and crops; and continue to be a bellwether for the condition of their and our environment.
What should I do if I see a swam ?
If you discover a swarm of bees, wasps, or other insects, your local emergency services (police, fire, rescue, and animal control) can be informed if the critters pose some threat and it would not be prudent to just wait for them to leave. A swarm of insects does NOT warrant a call to the 911 Emergency Center. Look up the local number and call the dispatch desk.
Alternately, you can contact BANV to see if a local bee removal expert would be interested in taking the bees.
