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As a young lad back in the fifties, it was common place during the summer months to experience a swarm of bees pass overhead as we played in the fields. Many of us would run for cover, fearing the bees might land on us or perhaps sting us. None of these swarms would ever have done any of these things.
Those who had some knowledge of bees would, on sighting a swarm, with quick action start to drum a pan or bucket to entice the swarm to land. I know that “drumming” (rhythmic tapping on the side of a bee skep) was an old practice used by beekeepers to move bees from a straw skep up into another placed on top. I don’t know if the drumming on the pots and pans to entice the swarm made any difference, but it is possible the bees picked up the sound waves.
Looking into the “mind” of the swarm, we know that bees in a swarm are already heading for a fixed destination and the likelihood of being swayed into cutting the journey short would be most unlikely.
Swarming preparations start long before one actually sees the swarm “on the wing”. Within the beehive, brood rearing is at a peak and the space for rearing more is simply not there. Some of the honeycombs are filled with honey as stores, and the rest are packed with brood. As brood hatches and new brood fills the hive, space becomes a premium. It may not be too crowded during the daytime when foraging bees are out collecting nectar and pollen, but at night or a wet period, where they are confined, it is likely to be the start of a sequence of events leading to swarming preparations.
The queen, who lays the eggs, produces a pheromone (a behavioural control chemical) which is licked from her by worker bees and is shared throughout the colony. This substance is their “daily news brief” communicating information to them that their queen is present and all is well. However, due to the increasing congestion within the hive, the “news” does not reach everyone, triggering a reaction. The assumption is made that “mammy” (the queen) is not up to scratch and must be replaced. To this end, new queen cells are prepared by worker bees and the queen will lay a fertilised egg in them and so “the train is leaving the station” so to speak. The queen will now be given less food every day to adjust her weight for flying. Her egg laying rate will reduce. On the day the bees seal over the first queen cell containing a well fed larva, a large number of those older foraging bees will depart the hive along with the queen. This is known as a swarm. They will settle somewhere nearby the hive, usually on a low hanging branch awaiting final instructions.
Some days before the swarm leaves the hive, scout bees will have been busy looking up some nice potential dwelling and may very well have decided on the one they want. However, as the swarm remains on the branch, scout bees travelling with it may still be in debate about the new home, but usually the decision is finalised within half an hour or so and they take off into the air as a swarm, heading for their new abode. It was common in my young days to see these swarms but, alas, varroa disease and beekeeping practice has changed the scene.
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