Wisborough Green Division

West Sussex Beekeepers Association


Honeybee Swarms and Other Bees
During the spring and summer beekeepers deal with a lot of enquiries from the general public about "swarms" or "bees", and the purpose of these notes is to help those non-beekeepers who are confronted with the problem.
Please read the Identification Notes, and try to make your own assessment about what you have before calling a beekeeper. As a guide, many calls before the end of June are for bumblebees, and after that they are for wasps due to the nest rapidly expanding, but of course there are calls for honeybees as well.
I have a swarm - What should I do?
If they are flying
Don't panic. Move quietly away and make sure nobody is in their flight path. The only reason they are likely to sting is if they are squashed or threatened. They should settle, and in a few minutes will form the normal swarm as in the images here. When they have settled they should be no problem. Warn others not to go near them. In reality by the time you have read this the bees would have settled, but the same advice applies when they move on.
If they have settled
A swarm could settle only for a few minutes before flying away, or it could be several days. In general swarms only fly between mid morning and mid afternoon. Contact one of the people on the list below as soon as possible, but please give them the following information:-

If the swarm flies off after you have contacted a beekeeper please let them know in order to save a journey. Please remember that most beekeepers are amateurs and may not be able to attend immediately. The removal of swarms is an unpaid service unlike pest control companies where a callout will attract a fee. Although a charge is not made a contribution towards travelling expenses would be appreciated, whether they are bees or not.
It is much easier for a beekeeper to collect a swarm when it is clustered than when it is in a new home, so don't delay. In general bees in buildings are very difficult to remove, especially chimneys, as it usually involves dismantling something. Bees in buildings are very rarely a problem, and within reason would probably be best left alone. All honeybees now have a parasite (Varroa destructor), and a newly swarmed colony is unlikely to live more than about three years before dying out.

If you have a swarm please contact someone on the following list:-

Beekeeper Phone number(s) Area covered
Roger Patterson 01403 790 637 West Sussex/South Surrey
  07976 306 492  
Tom Moore/Gordon Allan 01798 343 470 Petworth
Daisy 07980 280 852 Horsham and surrounding villages
Rosanne Blacklock 01903 742 615 Storrington
John Murray 01730 812325 Heyshott/Midhurst
Fred Fisher 01403 752 049 Loxwood/Ifold
Gordon Owen 01798 869 284 Sutton/Pulborough
David Elliott 01428 651 200 Haslemere
  07774 926363  






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