Call a licensed beekeeper for errant swarms

Montana is ranked No. 2 in the U.S. for honey production, so it’s not too uncommon for someone to come across a wandering bee swarm.

As summer approaches, bees may look for a new home by swarming. Honey bee swarms are a natural process, and when one is found, a licensed beekeeper is the best bet to have it removed safely.

“Swarms can be intimidating, but it is rare for swarming bees to sting. Swarming is how bees make new bees,” explained Cam Lay, at the Montana Department of Agriculture. “About half the colony leaves with the old queen and as much honey as they can eat. They’ll hang up somewhere and send out scouts to find a new location, someplace dry and defensible where they can store honey and raise more bees.”

Commercial hives also swarm, but beekeepers do their best to prevent that from happening.

“Finding a swarm is a good thing. It means free bees, and it may mean very good genetics if it’s from a wild colony that has managed to survive without human help for several years,” Lay said. “Having your bees swarm is not so good. It means that about half of them have decided to go live somewhere else.”

Honeybees usually swarm during warm months. Swarming is how they reproduce the colony and make more colonies in an area.

First new queens are started. The old queen quits laying eggs and her abdomen gets smaller so she can fly. When the new queens are ready to emerge, the old queen takes part of the colony and flies away.

The bees stay in a tight grouping as they fly. They will land on various places, including buildings, tree branches and machinery, to rest and give the scout bees a chance to find a new home.

As the bees are resting, some bees are continuously flying around, which can be quite frightening. Many beekeepers will remove swarms or assist in their control.

Many commercial beekeepers will collect swarms at no charge, and the Ag Department maintains a statewide list of beekeepers interested in being contacted.

In the Flathead, call Ken Lambeth of Big Arm at 406-849-5039, Arvon and Helen Fielding of Kalispell at 406-756-7511 or Thomas Lawrence of Bigfork at 406-837-4545.

For more information, visit online at www.agr.mt.gov or http://agr.mt.gov/agr/Programs/Bees/pdf/Swarm_list_5-30-2014.pdf or call 406-444-3144.