Swarming: what it is and how it is controlled in beekeeping

The phenomenon of swarming occurs in each hive when the swarm replaces the queen bee

What is swarming? Why is it important for beekeepers to monitor this phenomenon?

As we all know, each hive is made up of thousands of individuals and a single queen bee . The swarm works according to very defined rules and mechanisms.

Within a family of bees , each member of the colony performs a specific and well-coordinated task with that of the others. The queen bee is the most important element. It plays a key role in the survival of a swarm, namely: reproduction .

The queen bees, unlike the other bees, are able to reproduce and therefore represent the only fertile individuals of the colony . They lay thousands of eggs a day throughout their life. Since the queen affects the strength and well-being of a swarm, the ruler must always be at the peak of her strength. When the queen bee becomes less efficient in egg production, the swarm replaces it with a new young bee that will take her place.

Bees are very strict. The queen guarantees the turnover of bees and thus determines the strength of a swarm. An inefficient queen, either because she is old or for other reasons, is immediately replaced.

This is where the swarming happens. During this phase, the queen bee is forced to leave her family forever and part of the swarm will also go away with her. 

The causes of swarming: why does it happen?

Queen bees are unable to provide for themselves. Throughout her existence, the queen is fed and cared for by the workers.

Precisely for this reason, when the queen bee is replaced, part of her swarm goes away with her to settle elsewhere and take care of her until the end of her days. In addition to this, the queen will also be entitled to a small supply of honey for her departure.

The tendency to swarm , is a factor that depends on hereditary characteristics of a swarm which may be more or less inclined to implement this mechanism.

The factors of greatest incidence are to be linked to causes such as:

• the age of the queen;
• the available space;
• the state of health of the queen.

Regarding the first factor it is easy to think that: the older a queen is, the more likely it is that the swarm will happen. An underproductive and therefore old queen is always replaced with a more efficient one.

The space available in the hive also affects these mechanisms. The queen's health is another important factor. If the queen bee gets sick, the bees are more likely to swarm.

Queen bee and pheromone production

The queen bee tries to slow down her replacement as much as possible through the production of pheromones . The latter are particular olfactory hormones capable of influencing the behavior of bees. Through the pheromones, the queen blocks the other bees preventing them from proceeding with the construction of royal cells for the proclamation of a new queen.

There comes a time, however, when the queen's pheromones are no longer sufficient to control bees, as an old queen can produce less and less. At this point, the queen has no choice in her and she must immediately leave the swarm together with a group of workers who are rightfully entitled to her. 

Before the old queen leaves, the other bees stop feeding her and no longer provide her with royal jelly . Because of this, the queen loses weight, her body shrinks in size and she is ready to take flight. 

This usually happens two weeks after laying the royal egg . The part of the swarm that remains in the old hive awaits the birth of the new ruler for the creation of a new family. After this process, the cycle repeats itself in the following years.

Why should swarming be controlled in beekeeping?

When the swarming takes place, the old queen bee brings with it a large number of bees and also part of the harvest that will serve the new hive they will settle in.

For beekeepers, swarming is a significant loss as instead of a large and strong family, a small and weakened nucleus will be found. For this reason, swarming is a phenomenon that must be controlled.

There are some warning signs that help you know when the swarm is about to happen. Beekeepers always try to act preventively or, when it is too late, they try to recover swarms that have settled elsewhere.

Completely blocking swarming is almost impossible but, the process can be kept under control through some procedures such as artificial swarming or removal of real cells .

In any case, carrying out these maneuvers requires time, patience and some experience for the methodical inspection of the hives .

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