Tis the season for swarming in the life of a beekeeper. This time of year as the hives get stronger, they tend to want to split themselves and if the beekeeper doesn’t stay on top of them they can lose a large number of bees. Some loss is to be expected, but as part of the husbandry, efforts are made to make conditions prime in the hives.
Swarming happens when the bees take the queen and they all congregate in a clump on a tree (or somewhere) and prepare to take flight to find a new home. These bees are so focused on their task at hand that they aren’t aggressive or dangerous, so you can get close without issue, but I personally still use some caution! Jacob does not.
Jacob has taken most of his hives to the orange groves where they have done really well in honey production this year. That flow is almost over now, but in the meantime he left several weaker hives that were recently split and nuk boxes in our pasture. As they have strengthened, some of them have begun to swarm. It’s not uncommon for us to be outside and happen to find one in a tree. That was the case today when Josiah, Jacob, and I were hanging out in the pasture talking and enjoying the gorgeous day and Jacob noted 2 swarms gathering in the nearby trees. I’ve watched Jacob catch swarms before, but I think this is the first time I took the time to get the camera to document it.
First swarm:
Second swarm:
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