Don't Fret; It's No Threat -- Swarming's How Bees Do It

Don’t Fret; It’s No Threat — Swarming’s How Bees Do It

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Nov. 9, 2009

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3 min read

The world’s first manufacturers of sweets and plastic are
still hard at work,
contributing more than $144 million each year to U.S. food
production. If you see them in
your yard, don’t kill them.

Colonies move in
swarms

M. Fonseca, UGA
CAES

Removing a
bee swarm from a house.

BEES ARE GOOD —
REALLY! Many homeowners
see bee swarms or hives as a threat, but Marco Fonseca,
an Extension Service agent in
Cherokee County loves to get calls about bees. “The
callers see (bee) swarms as a
problem. But I see them as great, because I know we’re
increasing the wild bee
population.” More bees means more effective pollination
in gardens and crop fields.

“Each year honey bee colonies reproduce by a process
called swarming,” said Keith
Delaplane, an Extension
Service entomologist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.

“During midwinter, the queen begins laying eggs and the
colony’s population
grows,” Delaplane said. “By spring, the nest is congested
with many new bees.
The colony raises a new queen, and the old queen flies
away, accompanied by more than half
the bees.”

Swarms search new
sites

The flying swarm can cluster on a tree branch or other
object while scout bees search
for a nest site.

“A hanging swarm may take on any shape, depending on
the surface where the bees
are clustered,” Delaplane said. “Most hanging swarms are
round or oval, about
the size of a basketball and dark brown.”

Swarms in your yard?

If honey bees swarm in your yard, you have several
options:

Don’t disturb them.

If the swarm is safely away from animals and people,
wait for it to fly away on its own.

If the swarm poses a real risk to people or animals,
find a local beekeeper who will
remove it. Not all beekeepers collect swarms, and some
may charge a fee for the service.
Your county Extension Service agent can refer you to
local beekeepers who collect swarms.

If Africanized bees, commonly known as killer bees,
are known to be in your area, report
the swarm to your county Extension Service agent or
the state Department of
Agriculture. Fortunately, Africanized
bees aren’t known to be anywhere near Georgia.

Killer bees not in
Georgia

“Africanized honey bees are probably the biggest
anticlimax of the decade,”
Delaplane said. “They first entered the country in 1990 in
Texas. To everyone’s
surprise, they began moving west.

“They’re now found in southern New Mexico, Arizona and
California,” he said.
“But they haven’t even moved as far east as Houston. We
can start relaxing a little
bit.”

Honeybee swarms may move
in

Clustered swarms of honey bees are relatively gentle
and usually won’t sting. Still,
treat them with caution. In about 24 hours, they will move
on to their new home.

Unfortunately for some people, the bees’ new home may
be inside your walls.

“Wall voids are attractive to honey bee swarms looking
for a home,” Delaplane
said. “This is especially true if the cavity has had bees
in it before.”

To prevent bees from nesting in walls, caulk potential
entry sites, including known
holes, gaps in siding and openings around plumbing or
electric wires.

If you need ventilation around the openings, cover them
with window screening.