CALL 937-483-1244 FOR SWARM REMOVAL!!!

The infamous swarm. One of the most commonly misunderstood events that can happen with honey bees. Without going into extreme detail, as there are many great articles online including the one found here,  let’s cover the basics.

First and foremost, if you live within the Cincinnati, OH area and you see a Honey Bee swarm, do not spray them, contact our Swarm Coordinator immediately at 937-483-1244. Honey Bee Swarms are the process in which Honey Bees are in search of a new home. During this time Honey Bees are very vulnerable and won’t stay in an area very long. The faster a swarm can find a new home, the better the odds of its survival. This is one of the primary goals of BCBA, saving the Honey Bees.

What’s next? Well that’s easy, remain calm and enjoy the show…watch where the bees go. Believe it or not, one of the safest times to approach Honey Bees is when they are swarming. They do not have eggs, larvae, or a nest to defend. During a swarm, scout bees will go in search of a new home and the swarm surrounding the queen is its central point. The swarm will move and restart the scout process until a new suitable home can be found. Now during this process, even though they are quite docile, that doesn’t mean you go swinging at them with a flyswatter or start poking at them with a stick. They will defend the queen and themselves if they feel threatened but more often that not, you are their least concern and often ignored.

It is during this time that Honey Bees are also the most vulnerable. Inside a hive, bees can defend themselves from predators as entry ways into their hive are often very small, making it more difficult for predators to get to them. Should the queen become injured or killed, there are still available resources to produce a new queen in order to save the hive. However, when a colony leaves the hive in search of a new home, there is no longer structure to protect them or ample resources. If the Queen is killed in transit to a new hive, then the collapse of the colony is almost certain. It is for this reason alone that acting quickly in the event of a swarm is so important.