Simple Swarm Advice

Over in the beekeeping forums it appears bee have been busy swarming with some bait hives being found full and beekeepers collecting so many swarms they're running out of spare kit to keep them in. Last week some friends over in Newbald got out their empty Warré hive just in case they were lucky enough to catch a swarm, to their surprise a swarm moved straight in, now they're building a second hive.

There's even been a couple of swarms reported in media. Over in Beverley a swarm stopped on an open window above the Market place which the Hull Daily Mail reported on. Bizarrely the reporter claims she was stung just below the eye, gotta wonder how that happened. The Metro reported a lady being 'attacked by' a swarm of 5000 bees outside TopShop although 'attacked by' may actually mean 'walked through', I suspect if 5000 adult bees ever do attack you you're going to hospital and the story doesn't actually mention anyone being stung -but hey if that sells a newspaper go ahead and print it...

It seems many bee colonies managed to continue rearing brood across the mild Winter, add this to the Spring build up and you've got some pretty full colonies out there, although 2 of my colonies seem to have missed that particular memo, as a result there's a lot of swarming going on out there. If you do encounter a swarm the most important thing to remember is, in the word's of that famous Hitchhiker's Guide: Don't panic.

Contrary to certain newspaper headlines swarming bees don't 'attack' people, after all they have no home or brood to defend, they're also probably carrying a lot of honey which many believe impairs their ability to sting. However if you start screaming, flapping and running around they're likely to make an exception for you. The best plan is to stay calm and walk away.

When bees gather on a tree branch or wall it's just a temporary stopping point for the swarm whilst scouts seek out a new home. When the scouts return the bees should decide where they're headed and fly away.

You can call your local Council to deal with a swarm of bees, they'll usually have connections to beekeepers who'll to come and collect them if they're accessible or you can even call a beekeeper or local association yourself and find someone willing to take away those bees for you -after all they're worth a bit of money.
Before calling a beekeeper to remove a swarm or colony of bees make sure they are actually honey bees first. We don't remove bumble bees, wasps, hornets, flies, ants or inlaws. 

Beverley Beekeepers' Association have a chart to help you figure out if the insects your looking at are actually honey bees or not. You can find that here.