Swarms are the honeybee’s natural method of reproduction. When a colony is running out of space in its current home they begin to prepare to swarm by producing a new queen. Once the new queen is almost ready the old queen leaves with half the bees in the colony. This then produces a cloud of thousands of bees flying together until they stop somewhere to rest. Where they choose to rest is always interesting, a wall, on the ground, 40ft up a tree, it really does vary. Once they’ve landed to rest the hunt begins for a new home.

Swarms of bees are very misunderstood, when the bees are in a settled swarm they have nothing to protect and have just had a big meal and a flight, so even the most aggressive colonies are typically uninterested in stinging anyone. They will usually sit as a ball for anywhere between a few hours to days whilst they search for the perfect home.

Whilst they are in a swarm state they are very easy to relocate and safely rescue and rehome at no impact or cost to whoever’s land they’re on. Once a honeybee colony becomes established in a structure, such as a chimney, wall cavity, or under floorboards they can become a real problem, causing damage, placing large quantities of wax/honey and brood within the structure, having a potentially large impact on people nearby and can be very difficult and expensive to remove. Therefore if you ever come across a swarm of honeybees you should always contact a local beekeeper to collect them and safely rehome them, in the colony’s best interests.