A honeybee colony will swarm as a way to reproduce. If you think back to high school biology and remember that single-cell organisms reproduce by splitting in half and becoming two distinct organisms, then think of a colony of honeybees in the same way.

The colony prepares for a new queen, and just before she hatches, the old queen and half the bees leave to find another place to live. It’s always the old queen who leaves the hive and the new, younger queen who remains.

Their current home has been proven to be a safe place to live, and since the younger queen has a longer life expectancy, she gets the safe house, as it is a better bet to ensure that the colony’s genetics will continue to survive.

Many times when a beach ball-sized swarm of 15,000 – 20,000 bees suddenly appears, it’s covered by the local news, as it makes for great photos and video coverage.

When bees decide to swarm, after leaving their hive their first stop is simply a gathering place for them to bivouac until they can find a more permanent home. Scout bees will go out and search for a new home for the colony. The scout bees are looking for a cavity that’s inside a tree or inside a wall of a building. It needs to have at least 10 gallons of space, and ideally is 9-15 feet off the ground, facing South, and the entrance is at the bottom of the space. The bees will remain bivouacked until the scouts find a suitable place, or until a beekeeper comes and takes them away.

Before honeybees leave the hive, they gorge themselves on honey, as it might be several days before they will have something to eat. After they’ve swarmed and are bivouacked in a big ball, bees are like people after a big thanksgiving dinner, they just want to hang out and relax.

Also, honeybees are defensive if they are defending their home or their lives. Since they do not have a home while they’re bivouacked, they are not defensive. So as long as you don’t try to start crushing bees in your bare hands forcing them to defend their lives, they will not sting you.

Many beekeepers don’t wear any special equipment to catch a swarm, they’ll just wear whatever they have on when they get the swarm call, even if it’s just a t-shirt and shorts.

Beekeepers that catch a lot of swarms will have a cardboard box specifically set aside for catching swarms. They cut out ventilation holes on the sides of the box, then cover the “windows” with screen, so the bees have plenty of ventilation, and you don’t have to worry about the bees overheating or getting out. You can reinforce the box with duct tape to keep it sturdy, and then fill the box with everything you might need: garden sheers to cut branches; a bottle of sugar syrup to spray the swarm; an old bed sheet to wrap around a tree to catch any bees that fall; and some old honeycomb to make the bees feel at home.

The best part of catching swarms is that it’s a great way to educate the public about honeybees. You can show that bees are safe, mellow, and easy to manage. And since actions speak louder than words, as a beekeeper, you can demonstrate that if you BEE nice to bees, they will BEE nice to you!

To watch Frank The Beeman catch a swarm, please click on the YouTube Video below.