posted 12th May 2024
May is a busy time, both for the beekeeper and the bees.
As the weather continues to warm up and the queen gets into full swing laying eggs, the number of bees in the hive grows rapidly. To the point where there is not enough space. Natures solution to this is for the colony to split. The queen leaves the hive taking with her about half of the bees. They go off to find a new home while the remaining bees set about making a new queen in the hive.
The departing queen heads for a nearby tree or other convenient point and all her bees form a cluster around her. Then scout bees are sent out to search for a new home for the cluster to move in to.
When I can I collect swarms from so I can put them in to my new hives. When the cluster is dropped into a suitable box and the queen is in there the rest of the bees will follow. Within a very short time all of the cluster is in the box and ready to travel.