Why do Honeybees Swarm?
Honeybees usually swarm in the Spring. When the colony gets too crowded and not enough room inside or perhaps the bees decide that the queen is too old and not laying enough eggs, the honeybee colony will make preparations to swarm. The bees will start raising queen cells – many of them – sometimes more than a dozen. A week or so later about half of the bees will leave the hive with the old queen to look for a new location. The rest of the hive will stay behind, one of the queens will hatch out, kill the other queens and the hive will start to build up again. This is natures way of the colony reproducing itself. The beekeeper tries to avoid swarming as it reduces the honey crop. Read the story about a swarm that landed in our vineyard (above picture).
