Watch a Swarm Start from a Hive Box

[@mileawayhoney]

Did you go thru hive looking for queen cells in case you missed the queen in the tree?

[@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees]

I don't. 95% of the time, one or more are in there. I just inspect after a week or two to make sure there is evidence of a queen. If not, I grab eggs from another colony, or a queen cell and let them make their own.

[@Ms1al]

What made the swarm start?

[@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees]

Typically in the spring, honeybees get a signal, either a strong nectar flow (lots of flowers) or overcrowding, and worker bees (females) feed eggs differently, making queen cells. When the new queen cell is about to hatch, the old queen leaves the colony, as you see on this video, with lots of other bees. Typically they land on a nearby branch, as they do here, then the scout bees go out and look for a new home. The scout bees return, communicate the new location, and then all those bees swarm again to the new home. This is how bees reproduce. It is really amazing to stand in the middle of a bee swarm (and totally safe)

[@Ms1al]

@@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees Cool! Thanks for answering 😊