Swarms in Wallingford

A swarm of bees on a fence

A swarm of bees on a fence

The following post was written by lower Wallingford beekeeper, Kevin.

Honeybee swarming season is coming soon. Swarming is the natural way honeybee colonies reproduce. What happens is that during the winter of dormancy in the hive, the queen bee starts laying eggs and the workers raise the young as the colony starts ramping up their numbers for the upcoming spring’s bounty of flowering trees and plants. If and when a hive becomes too crowded, the hive decides to split in two. Colonies are considered by entomologists as superorganisms and reproduce similar to an amoeba splitting in two.  The queen and half the bees leave the hive in search of a new home.

A swarm is a sight to behold -– thousands of bees leave the old hive in a cloud and coalesce into a solid group to wait while scout bees search for a suitable home. Despite thousands of bees being together in a group in the open, the bees are at one of the least aggressive stages of their life cycle since they have no home to protect. I’ve walked into several flying bee swarms and up to coalesced bee swarms with no problem (I try to wear a hat since individual bees can get stuck in your hair and panic – this could result in a sting.)

Swarming happens usually from mid-April through May, although late swarming certainly is possible.  Beekeepers can control swarming by different methods, the most common being splitting the colonies in two when it looks like the bees are getting crowded.  A second method is to give crowded bees more room by adding a box to the hive, much like adding another story to a home.  Some beekeepers, especially novices, either haven’t quite learned to control swarming or they let their hives swarm as a ‘natural’ part of the bees’ life cycle.  Bees can also be attracted to a ‘bait’ hive set up by beekeepers.  Yes, you can put a hive ‘on the market’ and if you’re lucky, bees will check it out and move in.

A swarm moving into our bait hive.  Yes, I took the picture without protective gear.


What to do if you see a honeybee swarm?  The 911 operators have a swarm list of beekeepers who will respond to swarm sites and remove the bees. Generally speaking, the bees must be accessible. Some swarm chasers will remove bees from walls, but this is a specialized operation. In the greater Wallingford area, if you see a swarm, you could give me (Kevin) a call at 206-861-4638.  If the bees are fairly easily accessible, I can remove them. Also, if you have questions about bees, I can try to answer them.


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