Bee Information and Links
More About Bee Swarms
A bee swarm is a mass of bees, a portion of a colony that was outgrowing the previous home. A new queen was made and the old queen takes what she needs to form a new hive with her. They ball up around her and land on tree branches, fence posts, bushes, anything that seems sturdy and convenient for them. Scout bees are sent out to find a new home. The swarm will remain in place for a day or two, then when I new home is found (and hopefully it isn't someone's garage, chimney or eaves) and the swarm is up in a cloud of bees and settles in it's new home, quickly building up comb for rearing new bees and storing honey. Bees are much easier caught in a swarm because first of all, they are very calm. Swarming bees rarely sting unless provoked. Secondly, they are balled up together and often times the queen can be easily located. Another reason is that they can take residence quickly and removing them after they have settled somewhere means that the bees are more upset and more likely to have built a good bit of comb which can be difficult to remove. In our climate, bees are in a race to make sure they have enough honey and stores to survive the winter, so they work fast. This also means that bees caught in swarms, or colonies that have been removed from houses can be a lot of work late in the season. By the time July has arrived, it can often be too late for bees to survive on their own when they have to start over from scratch. These bees require the most work because they need lots of feeding and frequent observation.
Beginning Beekeeping
Different Types of Hives
Local Resources
Product Reviews
Why Are Bees Important
For more information, here are a few links:
More about honey bees.
More about bee swarms.
More about colonies living in your house.
The National Honey Board
The best advice on beekeeping can be found here.
For Kids and Teachers
A bee swarm is a mass of bees, a portion of a colony that was outgrowing the previous home. A new queen was made and the old queen takes what she needs to form a new hive with her. They ball up around her and land on tree branches, fence posts, bushes, anything that seems sturdy and convenient for them. Scout bees are sent out to find a new home. The swarm will remain in place for a day or two, then when I new home is found (and hopefully it isn't someone's garage, chimney or eaves) and the swarm is up in a cloud of bees and settles in it's new home, quickly building up comb for rearing new bees and storing honey. Bees are much easier caught in a swarm because first of all, they are very calm. Swarming bees rarely sting unless provoked. Secondly, they are balled up together and often times the queen can be easily located. Another reason is that they can take residence quickly and removing them after they have settled somewhere means that the bees are more upset and more likely to have built a good bit of comb which can be difficult to remove. In our climate, bees are in a race to make sure they have enough honey and stores to survive the winter, so they work fast. This also means that bees caught in swarms, or colonies that have been removed from houses can be a lot of work late in the season. By the time July has arrived, it can often be too late for bees to survive on their own when they have to start over from scratch. These bees require the most work because they need lots of feeding and frequent observation.
Beginning Beekeeping
Different Types of Hives
Local Resources
Product Reviews
Why Are Bees Important
For more information, here are a few links:
More about honey bees.
More about bee swarms.
More about colonies living in your house.
The National Honey Board
The best advice on beekeeping can be found here.
For Kids and Teachers
