08/06/2025
🐝 What Is a Bee Swarm? And What to Do If You See One 🐝
If you’ve ever seen a huge cloud of bees moving together or a big cluster of buzzing insects hanging from a branch, you’ve probably witnessed a bee swarm. While it might look alarming, bee swarms are actually a completely natural and fascinating part of a honeybee’s life cycle, and are usually perfectly safe if viewed from a comfortable distance.
A bee swarm is when a large group of honeybees leaves their hive in search of a new home. It usually happens when a hive becomes overcrowded, and the colony decides it’s time to split.
The old queen leaves the hive with up to 60% of the workers, forming a swirling cloud in the air before settling on a nearby tree branch, fence post, or wall. The swarm may hang there in a tight ball for a few hours or a couple of days while scout bees search for a new nesting site. Once the swarm has gathered in a temporary spot, the scout bees scout out new potential homes - typically hollow trees, chimneys, or roof spaces - and report back to the group before moving the whole colony. The science behind this is amazing, and if anyone is really keen to find out about it, Honey Bee Democracy by Thomas Seeley is a fascinating book on the subject.
Swarming is a natural way for honeybee colonies to reproduce and survive. It’s triggered by a few key factors, but mostly due to overcrowding in the hive, a mature or elderly queen and this year especially, warm weather in late spring and early summer, causing plentiful supplies of nectar and pollen, and this being put into the area the queen wants to lay in. She doesn't appreciate it, and this is a big trigger to move house.
Read more about bee swarms on our latest blog post here: https://hivemindmead.com/blogs/posts/what-is-a-bee-swarm-and-what-to-do-if-you-see-one
