Swarming bees is a natural and exciting process, but it can be worrisome for beekeepers trying to maintain hive productivity. Understanding why bees swarm and learning how to control swarming can make a huge difference in hive management. This blog will break down the causes of swarming and explore practical ways to prevent it from happening in your hive. From breaking queen cells to splitting hives, we’ll cover everything you need to know to keep your colony healthy and in place.
Swarming is a natural part of a bee colony’s life cycle, signaling the colony’s intention to reproduce and expand. When a hive becomes overcrowded, the queen and about half of the worker bees will leave the hive to search for a new home, creating what’s known as abee swarm. This behavior, while vital for bees in the wild, can reduce the strength of managed hives, affect honey production, and cause problems for beekeepers.
Recognizing the signs ofswarming behavior in bees and taking proactive steps is key to ensuring your hive remains productive and under control.
ee swarms occur naturally around September, or sometimes as early as mid-August if conditions are good.
Swarming is the bee’s instinct to multiply. While this is a natural event it is usually discouraged by beekeepers because it depletes their hives of workers and reduces honey production for a while.
Swarming is a colony’s method of reproducing at the super-organism level. The old queen departs with a group of workers, leavingqueen cells to produce a new queen for the remaining bees.
There are severalreasons for bee swarming, including:
Swarming is more common in the spring and early summer, coinciding with the natural expansion of the colony. Managingovercrowded bee hives and understanding thebee swarming cycle can help beekeepers anticipate and prevent the swarm before it disrupts their hive.
One of the most effective methods to preventswarming bees is to manage the queen cells. Queen cells are where new queens are raised, and their presence in the hive is a clear indication that a swarm may be imminent. Bybreaking queen cells as soon as they appear, you disrupt the colony’s preparations for swarming.
Identifying andbreaking queen cells involves carefully inspecting the hive for larger-than-usual cells along the bottom of the frames or other areas of the brood chamber. When you spot aqueen cell, remove it using a hive tool to prevent the bees from nurturing a new queen, thus delaying the urge to swarm.
However, this must be done carefully, as destroying allqueen cells can leave the colony without a replacement queen if the old one fails. Regular inspections are necessary for this method to be effective.
Adding space by moving brood frames from brood to super
To reduce congestion in the brood box and prevent overcrowding, you can relocate two or three frames of capped brood from the brood chamber to the honey super. Begin by gently shaking off all the bees from the selected brood frames to ensure that the queen is not unintentionally transferred. Place the brood frames into the honey super, positioning them above the queen excluder. This technique not only opens up space in the brood box but also promotes hive expansion by encouraging the bees to move into the upper sections of the hive.
Once the brood frames are removed, replace them in the brood box with frames of foundation. For best results, alternate these new frames with existing ones to provide a balanced structure for the bees to build on. This immediate reduction in congestion gives the colony extra room to work, helping to prevent swarming and allowing the bees to redirect their energy towards drawing new comb
One of the best practices for maintaining a clean, healthy hive is to replace old brood frames systematically. Instead of randomly swapping out frames, replacing 2 brood frames every 10 days ensures a balanced approach, allowing the bees to adapt to the changes without disrupting their work. This method effectively cleans the entire brood area over time, preventing swarming disease and improving colony productivity. Here’s how the process works:
Every 10 days, select 2 frames from the brood box for replacement. However, it’s important to follow a specific sequence rather than choosing frames randomly.
Example Sequence:
First 10 Days: Remove and replace frames 1 and 2.
Next 10 Days: Move on to frames 3 and 4, and so on, until all the frames have been replaced over several weeks.
After removing 2 old frames, replace them with new frames (ideally with fresh foundation or drawn comb).
This gives the bees space to rebuild the comb and allows the queen to lay eggs in clean cells, promoting healthy brood development.
Consistency in Brood Rearing: By following a sequence, the queen and nurse bees will not be disrupted too much at once. If you randomly replace frames, it may confuse the bees, disrupt brood patterns, or leave parts of the hive imbalanced.
To do this, find brood frames with capped cells and move them to thesuper box, where they can develop with more space. Replacing those frames with fresh ones in thebrood box encourages the queen to lay more eggs without triggering the swarm instinct.
Sometimes, the issue lies with the queen herself. Older queens, especially those over two years old, may produce fewer pheromones, signaling to the worker bees that a new queen is needed. This often triggers the swarming process. One of the best ways to preventswarming bees is throughre-queening—replacing the old queen with a young, more vigorous queen.
A young queen produces stronger pheromones, which help maintain colony unity and reduce the colony’s desire to swarm. Whenre-queening a hive, it’s essential to carefully introduce the new queen to ensure the colony accepts her. Over time, this practice can greatly reduce the frequency of swarming in your hives, as the colony feels no need to producequeen cells or split off with a swarm.
As mentioned earlier, a key factor inwhy bees swarm is overcrowding. Adding anothersuper box orbrood box can provide the bees with more space to expand, reducing their need to swarm. The bees will have more room for storing honey, laying eggs, and raising broods, thus lowering the sense of urgency to split the colony.
The best time to add asuper or brood box is before the bees start feeling cramped. In spring, when the hive is growing rapidly, this step can prevent the conditions that typically lead toswarming behavior in bees.
If adding super it would be in between brood and super. Or adding a second brood means we need to put the queen excluder after the second box because in spring the queen needs more space to lay eggs, she lays around 2000 eggs in one day.
You can harvest honey from the second brood later on though.This extra space not only helps manage swarming but also improves overall hive health and honey production.
If the colony is particularly large or aggressive in its swarming behavior, one of the most effective methods to preventbee swarming is to split the hive.Hive splitting involves dividing the colony into two separate hives, each with its queen and workers. This mimics the natural swarming process without losing bees to the wild.
By splitting the hive, you relieve overcrowding and reduce the colony’s need to swarm. The original hive can continue functioning with the old queen, while the new hive either raises a new queen or is introduced to one by the beekeeper.
To successfullysplit a hive, follow these steps:
This method ofswarm prevention not only helps control the colony’s population but also allows you to increase your apiary’s size, making it a win-win solution for both the bees and the beekeeper.
Managingswarming bees is an essential part of maintaining a productive and healthy hive. By understanding the reasons behind swarming and applying techniques likebreaking queen cells,moving brood frames,re-queening, andsplitting hives, you can effectively prevent swarming and ensure hive stability. Remember, giving your bees enough space and leadership will reduce the urge to swarm. Paired withOZ armour Beekeeping Suits, you can confidently manage your hives, staying safe and protected while keeping your colony strong and swarm-free.
