Honeybees Swarm in Carson
Our mild winter has caused many feral honeybee colonies to begin swarming earlier this year.
Swarming is the method that honey bee colonies use to reproduce. A mature overwintered colony splits into two or more colonies by swarming. A new honey bee colony is formed when the mother queen leaves the old hive with roughly 60% of the worker bees. The mother queen will leave the old hive for her daughter to rule.
The swarm will not travel far from the original hive before landing on an object and forming a cluster. This is usually only 100 – 200 yards from the original colony. You will often see a swarm of bees hanging in a tree or on a bush. These bees are not building a new hive they are merely resting while scout bees are searching out a new home. When a scout bee returns and communicates the location of their new home they often will leave as quickly as they arrived.
Only 1 out of 6 swarms will survive there first winter and honeybees are responsible for 1/3 the food we eat. Our honeybees population is in a state of decline and honeybees are suffering from the use of pesticides, herbicides, monocropping, GMO pollen sources and are being attacked by various mites, virus’s and pathogens.
If you spot a swarm of bees please do not spray them or call an exterminator! Call a beekeeper to capture and relocate them.
James Ellis
Beekeeper
(775) 267-1451