Have you found a swarm?

Honey bee swarm in a tree, Lancashire. Anne Goodwin

Do you think you have found a swarm of honey bees?

Our association offers a swarm collection service. One of our members will come and remove the bees and re-hive.

Swarming is the natural way that a colony of honey bees reproduces. It happens when a new Queen has been formed and is almost ready to emerge from her cell.

In preparation honey bees gorge on honey prior to their journey in search of  a suitable nesting site. When they are ready to go the bees leave the hive and can appear as a cloud in the air. We tend to spot them when they are resting as a cluster with the Queen at their centre. Without her there is no future for the colony.

The resting place for a swarm can be in the most unusual of places and should not be confused with a wasp nest. Swarming bees have little interest in people when in this mode. Their priority is to find a safe place to set up their new colony, so you have little to fear from them

If you think you have a swarm please leave it alone. Swarmed honey bees are usually docile (their stomachs are full of honey) but provoking them is not a good idea. Swarms can be badly damaged by high winds and heavy rainfall. Please do contact us as soon as possible, if you see a swarm.

Please also try to ensure what you have is a swarm of honey bees, please click on this link to help identify what you have found.

If you are still not sure feel free to ring any of our swarm collectors and they will do their best to offer advice and sort out the problem.

A small charge may be made to collect swarms to cover expenses of the individual collector. Please note that all of our swarm collectors are volunteers and may not be able to respond immediately.

To find the nearest swarm collector to you, then please click on the following link and enter your postcode at STEP 4.

Find your local swarm collector