It may be cool, but honeybee swarm season is underway.
The President of the NL Beekeeping Association, Donna House, says honeybees don’t survive well on their own in the NL climate, and are managed by beekeepers who keep them in man-made hives.
She says this time of year, when the hive colony grows and becomes more crowded, swarming can occur.
(Photo via Gov NL Twitter.)
House says typically beekeepers can manage growing hives, but sometimes weather and other factors can prevent them from taking action to prevent swarming.
She says swarming is a natural reproductive process whereby the queen and 50 to 60 percent (30-40 thousand members) of the bee colony will leave the hive if there isn’t enough room for her to lay her eggs.
Those bees will fly to a nearby location and cluster on something, usually a tree, but sometimes they might pick another location like a building or object, while scouts try to find a new location to colonize.
Photo via Kim Dooley
House says honeybee swarms are “very, very gentle” when they’re clustered in that way. If someone comes across a honeybee cluster, she’s encouraging them to call the NL Beekeeping Association who can move the cluster safely.
She says they’d much rather move the honeybees than have them exterminated.
