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If You See a Swarm of Honeybees, Call a Beekeeper

by Post Staff Reporting On In News | Comments Disabled

If you see a swarm of honeybees—brown and black striped, not bright yellow like wasps or yellowjackets—don’t panic. And please, don’t try to kill them or scare them away. Call the Alameda County Beekeepers Association [1] (ACBA) at 510-898-6696 and they will send a beekeeper right away to relocate the bees at no charge.

Alameda Post - two photos of bees. On the left, a large clump of bees is in a ball on a tree. On the left, bees cover the side of their bee box. [2]
Left: A swarm of bees broke away from a hive and coalesced around the queen to protect her. This mass was rescued by an experienced beekeeper and successfully moved into a new hive. Right: This is not a swarm. This is a behavior called bearding, when worker bees position themselves near the entrance of the hive to help regulate the interior temperature. Photos Adam Gillitt.
Alameda Post - an infographic in bright yellow and black stripes. It says "Swarming honeybees? Every year, around springtime, honeybees all around "swarm" to find a new home. Thousands fly around and clump together on a branch or building until they find a new hive. They are NOT dangerous unless disturbed. Bees are brown/black striped, not bright yellow list wasps and yellow jackets. Honeybees are important and should be save. Don't try to get rid of them! There are local beekeepers who will be happy to collect them for you, free of charge. Call the Alameda County Beekeepers Association "Swarm Hotline" to arrange to help. (510)-898-6696. www.alamedabees.org. [3]
Click to enlarge.

The beekeeper will arrive with equipment to encourage most of the bees to move into a box. Over the next few hours, the rest of the swarm will join their sisters in the box, according to the ACBA. At dusk, the beekeeper will return to remove the box, now filled with the bees, and will take it to a safe location where the bees can thrive.

While you wait for the beekeeper to arrive, stay calm. The bees will remain together in a clump, except for a few scouts. “When honeybees swarm, they are in a very gentle state and unlikely to sting,” volunteer beekeeper Dan Remotion posted on Facebook. “They’re just looking for a new home.”

To protect the bees—and people who may disturb them—it’s a good idea to keep others from approaching. If the swarm is in a public place, the ACBA suggests cordoning off the area and posting a sign saying that a beekeeper is on the way.

When is a swarm not a swarm? When a honeybee colony is established inside a house, perhaps living in the chimney or an attic, it’s no longer a swarm. The bees can still be safely removed, but the extraction process is more complicated, the ACBA notes. Call the ACBA at the same number and they will refer you to a beekeeper who will handle the relocation. There will be a fee, to be negotiated with the individual beekeeper.