Do you know why bees swarm and what to do if you spot a swarm?
Swarming is a response to overcrowding within a colony, when bees swarm the queen and a large group of bees fly off to create a new colony. The colony left behind will then raise a new queen and duties shall continue as normal, essentially the swarm has now created two colonies from one making swarming a natural process of colony reproduction.
When bees sting it's to protect either the colony or themselves, when bees swarm they have no colony to protect and are trying to conserve energy and numbers to begin their new colony. Before they leave they fill their stomachs with food to keep them going until they reach their new destination, imagine trying to bend over to defend yourself on a full stomach. The chances of being stung by a swarm are far less than if they were “at home”, that doesn’t mean to say they won't sting you so please keep a safe distance.
If you do come across a swarm please reach out to us or head to the swarm section on the British beekeepers association website, where you can enter your postcode and find your local swarm collectors. We cover the 3 counties and we get a lot of swarm calls so we may not always be able to get there before the bees move on but we will always point you in the right direction if we can't make it.
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