Swarms

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Swarms

A hanging cluster of bees is called a "swarm." There can be as many as 25,000 bees in a swarm. If you have the opportunity to capture a swarm, it can be a cheap way to get a lot of bees to populate your hive or replace winter losses.

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Swarms (Runtime 1:45)

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What Is a Swarm?

Swarming is an instinctive part of the annual life cycle of a honey bee colony. It is thought that bees are more motivated to swarm when there is overcrowding and congestion in the nest, which typically happens in late spring and early summer.

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A honey bee swarm clusters on a tree branch.

When a swarm leaves the nest, it does not fly far at first. Instead, it will alight nearby as a cluster. From there, 20-50 scout bees locate a new cavity, which may take a few hours or several days.

Hollow trees are the most common new nesting site, though they may settle in the cavity of a wall or under a porch. The swarm may fly a kilometer (0.6 mile) or more to its final nesting site.

Swarming creates a vulnerable time in the life of honey bees. A swarm will starve if it does not move quickly, or the queen may get lost or captured by predators during flight.

We will discuss swarming biology in detail in Section 4.