Services & Support

Honeybee Swarms

Honeybees like many living things have strong survival instincts. Even the best of beekeepers have challenges staying on top of this desire for honeybee colonies to grow and establish new colonies. These flying ladies and their communities swarm for many reasons. There is a time, usually during the summer, when the current queen could leave her hive along with about half of the hive's honeybee population. The hive may swarm because they do not have enough growth room to expand in their hive (most common), diminished floral resources, other environmental conditions, or for other reasons that are not well understood. The hive prepares for this day by growing new queens. When these queens are about ready to hatch or have already hatched, things change quickly in the hive. Each honeybee at this point decides to either stay or leave with the departing queen. They get ready by flying around the hive and then congregating with the departing queen. This congregation outside the original hive is called "a swarm ". They usually stay near the original hive at first, either in a tree, shrub or whatever works for them. The group sends out scout bees in search of a new home. When they return, they share their findings. Once a decision has been made, they all fly off to establish a new home, in what they hope will be, greener, floral filled pastures. Sometimes, instead of the current queen leaving, the newly hatched queen leaves with an entourage.

Honeybee Swarm Retrieval

We provide services to retrieve and relocate honeybees that have swarmed. We can collect a swarming group of honeybees before they travel too far from the original hive. We collect them together and relocate the new group back into another hive. It can be either on the same site or elsewhere. They can then settle in, and become a new beehive community, protected and cared for, where they can flourish. Collecting a swarm can sometimes be a challenge. The swarm can settle in a temporary location that is difficult to reach, such as high in a tall tree. We try to rescue as many honeybees as possible.

Education and Mentoring

Beekeeping can bee quite rewarding in many ways. Like all professions, hobbies or areas of interest, your level of involvement is just that, yours. The fascination and unique community structure of the honeybees themselves, as one for all and all as one (at least this is my interpretation) is an impeccably intriguing and peaceful community of hard-working teams, each with a very specific task, all working toward a common goal. Of course, gentleness and patience are always priorities for us. Any group of beekeepers will have as many different approaches and opinions on keeping honeybees, as there are beekeepers. That is part of the magic of beekeeping. Bee-ing part of this world a Beekeeper" ,or as I like to say, Bee Steward, needs to share, continuously learn, and teach. Growth comes with involvement, wrapped in the ideals of community, like the honeybees