Why we don't want swarms
If swarming is the honey bee colony's only natural way to reproduce, why wouldn't the beekeeper want it to happen?
A honey bee swarm is one of the most amazing natural sights of the British wildlife, and as a general rule the bees will be very gentle.
However there are several good reasons why we prefer bees not to swarm:
- Swarms are a nuisance
Whilst there are natural sites for a swarm to choose such as a large cavity in a tree; gardens and houses provide many more, most of which have the added benefit of being weatherproof, well insulated, and sometimes even heated!. Whilst the bees love such sites, we'd rather not have bees taking up residence in them! e.g. chimney, garden shed, inside a cavity wall through an air brick. Once a swarm has settled in such a site, the only real options are to leave it be, undergo major (and often expensive ) building work, or kill the bees (which can only be done in certain circumstances)!
- Colonies from swarms are often short lived
In the UK honey bees have many natural enemies to contend with such as wasps, hornets, several species of birds, mice, veroa mite, wax moth, EFB, AFB as well as the cold and wet of the English winter. A swarm in May-July has only a few months to build up size and resources to last through the first winter, and even if successful, continues to face a hard struggle for future survival.
- The 'parent' colony is weakened each time a swarm leaves
When a swarm leaves, up to half of the flying bees leave with it. This is a massive hit on the productivity of the colony, and if successive swarms follow (and they very often do) then the original colony may well so weaken as to not be able to survive the next winter.
