Photo by: Karen Mulcahy

Spring has sprung a bit early here in eastern NC. There is a good chance honeybees will be swarming, possibly today, although it is still a little chilly, most certainly during the next few warm days, there will be a lot of swarms!  Nature is bursting out of (a sort of) winter. At this time of the year, the sighting of various insects, including actual honey bee swarms, causes a good bit of confusion.  To a keeper of honeybees, a swarm is part of the natural process of honeybees creating new hives.  We, beekeepers, try to prevent our colonies from swarming while welcoming the chance to bring home swarms of bees.

This note may help to determine whether you have a honeybee swarm or some other phenomena. 

Carpenter bees are especially active right now. The male carpenter bees emerge before the females. They are very territorial and have no fear of humans. They make their presence known in no uncertain terms but are harmless to people and animals. Your wooden deck is another matter; they make ½” holes in wood for their nests.  Also, male carpenter bees have no stingers.

Most people are familiar with large furry Bumblebees, carpenter bees look similar and are about the same size.  However, you are not likely to mistake a carpenter bee for a bumblebee or be bothered by bumblebees because they are busy collecting nectar and pollen. Bumbles are ground-nesting social bees, and they, well, bumble about.

Probably the most common flying insect mistaken for honey bees is the yellow jacket wasp. They are a similar size and are yellow and black.  I can usually tell one from the other because the yellow jackets never seem to be still long enough for me to get a good look.

These wasps are ground nesters, so if you are on your lawn or in the woods and hear a pronounced buzzing, run. These buggers hurt a lot when they sting, and, unlike honeybees, they do not lose their stingers and can repeatedly sting you. I’ve had plenty of honeybee stings, and I can tell for sure, yellow jacket stings are many times more painful.

Occasionally paper wasp nests are also mistaken for honeybee swarms. Their nests are constructed of grey, papery honeycomb-like cells, which may be just about anywhere, under eaves, overhangs, or in old barns.

So, what is a honeybee swarm?  When a honeybee colony starts to feel a bit crowded, several things happen. The queen bee will lay eggs that will be raised to be new queens, and she will prepare for flying.  When the time is right, usually on a warm, clear day, a large number of bees come out of the hive with the old queen.

A great number of swirling, swarmy, buzzing bees is something to see and hear - but not fear.  The busy bees will group up somewhere. In a tree, on a fence post, whatever is handy, and wait for scout bees to find them a new home. They may remain in a bunch for a few minutes or a couple of days. Generally, they will not be there for more than a couple of hours before moving to their new home. This picture is of a modest size swarm before being collected from a tree.

Honeybees are not territorial at this point. They have no hive to defend, only their queen to tend to.  The ball of bees might be the size of a football or two, or a tennis ball. There is no need to panic or kill them as they will move on soon. Just leave them alone and call an extension office, a local beekeeper, or post a note on a local beekeeping Facebook page. Beekeepers are thrilled to collect these, and we generally have all the equipment required in our vehicles this time of year, just in case. Honeybee removal of this type is free.

One more thing that is not a swarm of honeybees is a bunch of active bees near a colony that might be inside your home, outbuilding, hollow tree, or an old barn. If the bees have an established colony in a location where you wish they were not, you will need to address the problem in its entirety. 

The average beekeeper may not be interested although specialists may be It depends on the location, and it could get expensive. Not only must the bees be removed, but all remnants of the wax and honey have to be removed. Carpentry is likely to be involved. If all the colony remains are not obliterated, your free clean-up crew will be composed of cockroaches, ants, wax moths, and other undesirables. Also, if the entrance is not blocked, another swarm will eventually find the location and move in.

Please let someone know if you see a honeybee swarm rather than killing it. The bees, plants needing pollination, and your local beekeeper will thank you. The following are a few of your options for finding bees a new home.

Call an NC Cooperative Extension Center.  Lenoir County Center (252) 527-2191. Greene County Center (252) 747-5831. Jones County Center (252) 448 - 9621. They can contact local beekeepers on your behalf.

- Karen Mulcahy