Honeybee Swarm

Close-up of honeybee swarm

My neighbor seems to have some prolific honeybees. He had two swarms last summer and now his first one is happening this early in the season!

Swarming is how new bee colonies are created. A little more than half the bees in a colony will swarm along with the queen bee after a new queen is hatched. They congregate on a nearby branch and scout bees fly off to find a new home. At this point, the beekeeper collects the swarm and introduces it to a new bee box. I just stopped by my neighbnor’s house and left him a note; I hope he gets back before the scout bees locate a promising locale for their new colony.

I think collecting this swarm is going to be a challenge. They have congregated in some vines that are winding around and up a guy cable supporting a light pole. Last year, they were in a tree and he was able to just cut off the branch they were on. I think Duke Energy might have issues with him lopping off their guy cable.

Guy cable with vines and a few bees flying around

Bee swarm on guy cable

I kept inching closer and they didn’t seem to be concerned at all, so I went right up and got some close-ups. I got safely away with several photos and no bee-stings.

Close-up of bee swarm