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A SWARM OF BEES IN MAY

No doubt most of us country folk can complete the old rhyme - Is worth a load of hay, A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon, A swarm of bees in July isn't worth a butterfly!

However, what do we really know about that swarm of bees, and why should bees leave home and swarm anyway? The real answer to the last question is that it is nature's only way of perpetuating the species.

In their natural conditions many colonies expire each season from one cause or another, pests and diseases or winter starvation following a poor summer being largely responsible. Were these losses not made good extinction would soon follow.

To look at the story of the swarm it is best to consider the case of a colony in the wild, possibly situated in a hollow tree, where it may have been in residence for many years. Very soon after the year turns, some time towards the end of January, the queen will commence egg-laying, on a very small scale initially.

This activity continues and accelerates, encouraged by the income of new supplies of nectar and pollen from early flowers during February and March. At this time the queen may be laying several hundred eggs daily, each of which will produce a mature worker bee in three weeks' time. Such a colony will normally reach its peak towards the end of May with large areas of comb occupied by stores or by brood (eggs and larvae in various stages of development), and of course a huge number of bees. In many cases it is at this stage that instinct dictates the division of the colony by means of swarming.

The queen, of course, invariably leaves the home with the swarm, so provision of a replacement for her has to be made prior to her departure. A number of larger cells are built, into each of which an egg is deposited, either directly by the queen, or else may be transferred by a worker from a normal cell. Larvae hatching from these eggs are liberally fed with royal jelly, a glandular secretion. This rich diet, coupled with adequate development space, as opposed to the cramped conditions of the workers' cradle, will produce the perfect female, or queen bee. Workers derive from identical eggs, but the limited growth conditions result in a female without the reproductive organs of the queen.

Now is come their joyous moment, for the perfectly ordered life of the colony to be abandoned, as bees suddenly pour out of the entrance in their thousands. The air seems to be full of bees, and the noise, heard for the first time, can be quite alarming. This great excitement, however, is short-lived, and within five or ten minutes peace reigns again. A suitable gathering point, usually within a hundred yards is selected, and here the swarm will settle in a tight cluster, where it will remain for a few hours, or occasionally as long as two or three days.

Now follows one of the most remarkable feats of all the many miracles of the bee world. Just as quickly as the swarm settled, so the cluster will disperse, and within minutes all are on the wing once more. Once in the air the great throng makes its way in an orderly manner to its new home, possibly a mile or more away flying in a perfectly direct course, or bee line. It is clear that scout bees fly off from the clustered swarm, or that they possibly search the area prior to the swarm's emergence. How these scouts communicate their finds, and how one of a number of possible sites is selected, and how the mass of bees is eventually able to fly in a direct course to the spot, is one of the true marvels of nature. What but the mighty hand of our all-wise Creator God could so hold everything in perfect order in this creation!

Once settled in the new surroundings, and after a bit of general spring-cleaning, it is back to business as usual. Within an hour or two there will be small areas of new comb suspended from the roof, in which the queen will soon deposit eggs, whilst more cells are filled with newly gathered nectar and pollen. The word swarm is no longer relevant, and we have an established colony of bees which may even throw its own swarm in twelve months time.

So what about the bit where we started with May, June, July. It is obvious that the earlier the swarm, the greater the opportunity for the beekeeper to obtain a worthwhile return of honey during the current season. Nothing can be expected from a late July swarm, in fact such would probably need assistance in the way of syrup feeding to survive the winter. Hardly worth a butterfly really, is it?

E. Latimer
November 2000

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