What is a Swarm of Bees?

A swarm is a group of bees that exists outside of a bee hive. A swarm is created when a group of bees leaves the hive in search of a new home. This typically happens in the spring and the swarm of bees congregates somewhere (like a tree branch) while they search for a new home. When they find a new home, they’ll set up shop and create a hive of their own. This is how bee colonies replicate.

When a swarm is searching for a new home, they are likely looking for a cavity, a contained space with a small opening. They could choose a hollow tree or a dead tree branch, or they could choose the wall of someone’s house. We collect swarms to give them an appropriate home in a new hive. We then can take care of them, treat them for diseases if necessary, and aid them in survival. In return, we will take any excess honey that they make and keep it for our business. Some of the hives we have today began as swarms that we collected years ago.

Watch the video above to see how we collect a large swarm of bees!