The natural reproductive process by which a honey bee colony splits, in which the old queen departs the hive together with roughly half the worker bees to found a new colony, while a newly reared queen remains behind with the rest. The swarm first clusters temporarily on a nearby branch or structure while scout bees search for a suitable new nest cavity, a vulnerable but usually calm phase in which the bees, having gorged on honey before leaving, are far less defensive than they are at the hive.
Facts
Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceA cluster of bees around the queen on a tree or branch a few metres from the hive 1 PeriodicityMainly spring, within a two- or three-week period depending on locale 1 Sources
1. Swarming (honey bee), Wikipedia
Timing section
Swarming is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two- or three-week period depending on the locale, but occasional swarms can happen throughout the producing season.
Swarm cluster description
They may gather in a tree or on a branch only a few metres (yards) from the hive. There they cluster about the queen.
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