I received a call this afternoon from a Prince George’s county resident regarding a buzzing swarm of “buzy” bees, among at least a handful of other similar cases brought forth by concerned homeowners. Turns out, our Bowie client was fortunate (she may not agree) to discover a clustered swarm of honeybees clinging to a low-lying branch on a young tree in her own front yard, “too near to my car” she added. Tis the season!
I say, lucky her! She was witness to a swarm that many of us may never see in our lifetime. Honeybee swarming is nature’s own way of dividing a colony due to (generally speaking) overcrowding. In an overcrowded colony, typically in the spring, the workers will raise a secondary queen and she will travel with half of the hive members or more (up to 30,000 bees) to scout out a suitable location for a larger home. In essense, this temporary cluster may cling to a branch, overhang, or void area for a matter of only a few days while scout bees determine where the new division colony will reside.
While it waits, this swarm is fairly docile and content to just hang tight until the scouts return with news of the perfect peice of real estate. So while honeybee swarms may look pretty scary - indeed, the word “swarm” conjures up images of killer bees attacking en masse - they really could care less about you. With no home, brood (larvae) or stored honey to protect, the bees simply want to bide their time and will be on their way within a few days.
Should you be lucky enough to witness one of nature’s most fascinating events of the season, here are a few things you can do:
- Don’d disturb the bees. While they are docile, they’ll protect themselves if they feel like they’re being harmed. Ouch!
- Call your local pest management professional for species identification. Let’s be sure you’re indeed spying on a true “swarm”.
- Contact your county extension office, via department of agriculture, for a list of beekeepers in your area (hint: most would be happy to remove a swarm for you).
- Grab a camera - snap some pics from a respectful distance so you won’t disturb these honeys. Your friends, neighbors and family won’t believe it and you can regal them with stories about your run-in with these less-than-killer bees!
TAGS: Bees, swarm, honeybees, Prince George’s County, Maryland, Pest Control, Inspection, Montgomery County, removing bee swarm, bee removal, american pest management, MD, kill bees, treat for bees, honey, pests, bee
4 responses so far ↓
1 Wendy In Silver Spring // Apr 25, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Wow! What a fascinating thing to see (although I hope I never see one in my own back yard). I didn’t realize bees left their hive when they outgrow it (I didn’t even know that they DO outgrow it!). I sure would love to get my hands on some of that honey, though! : )
2 Matt Nixon // Apr 30, 2008 at 9:01 am
This is a great Blog post. Thanks for the info!
3 mmiller // Apr 30, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I would love to see that. My wife and kids might feel otherwise.
Nice Post!
4 Joni Howard // Jun 15, 2008 at 10:13 am
I was having coffee on my back porch, when I heard the swarm coming but could not see any sign of them. I kept telling myself this unusual sound could not possibly be a swarm. I thought I was mistaken and it was a tractor in the distant dirt road located in the woods. The noise kept getting louder and louder it was definitely a swarm yet nothing in sight. Then there it was, I could not believe my eyes. We followed the swarm to a Leeland in the front of the house by the driveway. Then we alerted neighbors. It was fascinating to see such an extraordinary display of nature.
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