I have a swarm

Swarms are natural. Honey bees are the only type of bees that swarm. It is part of their natural reproductive lifecycle.

The swarming season in Rotorua usually begins in late August and can sometimes last through till Christmas. Warm weather and plentiful supplies of flowers and pollen stimulate the queen bee to lay more eggs. The resulting large numbers of young bees causes overcrowding in the hive, reducing both the queen’s desire to lay eggs and the worker bee’s ability to add more nectar and pollen. Swarms are the natural outcome of these circumstances.

The queen and about half the colony (5,000 to 20,000 worker bees) will swirl from their hive and land on a tree branch, mail box or even a car. The bees form a tight cluster around the queen while scout bees go out looking for a hollow space in which to make their new home. It may take a few hours or up to two days for a new home to be chosen. Bees in a swarm are not aggressive or inclined to sting while they wait. They are lazy and have filled their bellies with honey before leaving the hive, since they knew they would be without food until they found their new home. They are temporarily homeless, so they have nothing to defend.

If you see a swarm, it’s best to leave it alone. Do not spray it with insecticide, as it makes them sick, dead, or in any case, ineffective as valuable pollinators. If you find a swarm of honey bees that needs collecting, contact our swarm chaser to have the bees safely gathered.

We encourage you to call as soon as possible, before the swarm has a chance to establish itself.
During spring and early summer phone Wendy 0274 815 230 . Bees collected and relocated in this way can then continue doing their good deeds of pollinating and making honey. We appreciate your help in protecting honey bee swarms.

When you call Wendy 0274 815 230, be prepared to answer the following questions:

1. Name and Address and phone number of person on-site.
2. Is the swarm on your property?
3. Do you want us to collect it?
4. Can you send me a photo of the area where the swarm has settled and a close up of the cluster of bees?
5. What is access to the site like?
6. Are the bees just flying around or are they mostly in a cluster/ball? How long have they been there?
7. Clear description of the swarm i.e.
   1. Where is it?  If up a tree, then how far off the ground?  Do you know what sort of tree it is?
   2. Is it a clump of bees?  How big is it compared to a rugby ball?
   3. How long has it been there?
8. Are the bees yellow and black (wasps) or gold and brown/black?
9. Has anyone else been contacted about this swarm?
10. Are there any dogs on the property?

Differences between bees and wasps

Although they may look similar in colour, the physical and behavioural characteristics of bees and wasps are different. You may be able to take a photo with your smart phone or camera to aid identification.
The location of the swarm or nest is another clue. Wasps tend to borrow into the ground or a natural cavity while bees will not be close to the ground.

Both bees and wasps can sting. Each bee can only sting once as a bee sting has a barb which pulls the venom sac from the bees body and this remains lodged in the skin. If you see a venom sac then it is a bee. The sting needs to be scraped out. A single wasp can sting multiple times and then fly away. So if you have a sting and no sign of a venom sac then it is a wasp.

Rotorua Honey Bee Club does not remove wasp nests. We suggest you contact a pest control company to remove the nest. The other option is to remove it yourself by using products available from a gardening or hardware shop. At your own risk you could approach the wasp nest at night and pour either ammonia or petrol down the hole. It is the fumes that will kill the wasps –do not light the petrol.