Natural swarms: a great resource for sustainable beekeeping

PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING – tips from the field

Kwame Aidoo, Bees for Development Ghana and Janet Lowore, Bees for Development UK

Wild honey bee colonies and natural swarms

Swarming is the reproductive process of honey bee colonies. It occurs when conditions in the environment are conducive for colony build up and development. This period coincides with the honey flow season when the nest becomes full with bees, honey and bee bread. The nest space is congested, such that the colony needs more space. The swarming process is initiated and the colony divides: one half issues out and relocates in a cavity far away. The departing bees are a swarm, and if it is the first swarm of the season it is called a prime swarm. Prior to this condition, the queen lays many eggs to boost the colony’s population. Queen cells are built, sometimes up to ten. The queen cells can be identified in the congested nest looking like ground nut (peanut) pods. The developing queen larvae are provisioned with abundant royal jelly for 5 days and the cells are then sealed by worker bees until a young, virgin queen emerges 16 days after the egg was laid. Just before the young queens emerge, the old queen leaves the nest with about half of the bees. This prime swarm settles temporarily on a branch of a nearby tree, before moving to the new cavity which the swarm will settle and develop into a full colony. Meanwhile in the original colony, the first young queen to emerge will destroy her sibling queens and inherits the colony from her recentlydeparted mother. She goes out on a nuptial flight a few days later to mate with drones from other colonies in a congregation area high up in the sky. She returns to the nest and begins to lay eggs to build up the colony.

Figure 1. A swarm box on a top-bar hive

Photos © Kwame Aidoo

Figure 2. A swarm box set on the trunk of a tree

The swarming season

The time of the swarming season depends on the vegetation and climatic conditions of the area. Usually the swarming period coincides with the first few months of the honey flow season. Colonies which survive the dearth period build up quickly using abundant floral resources. In tropical West Africa, the swarming season begins from the end of the rainy season in July-August and continues to January- February.

Figure 3a. Application of a pulley system to set a swarm box high up in a tree

Figure 3b. Swarm boxes set in tree canopies attract swarms quickly

Absconding

Absconding and swarming are different. Stressed colonies may evacuate their nests at any time when conditions in and outside the nests become unbearable. Colonies raided by honey hunters may leave their plundered nest and abscond. Such absconding colonies may seek out empty hives located by beekeepers, in much the same way as swarms do.

Stocking hives with natural honey bee swarms

Wild bee colonies in every locality will have developed, by natural selection, survival characteristics that enable them to perform well in their environment. Their genetics have developed over the years and are fine tuned to survive the range of environmental conditions found in that area. They can survive attacks from pests, diseases, and parasites. Local swarms are therefore regarded as the best source of bees for sustainable and natural beekeeping.

Methods of obtaining natural swarms

A natural honey bee swarm can be attracted to occupy empty hives, baited with suitable materials and located in an appropriate place. It is rare for beekeepers to achieve full occupancy of all their hives by relying on the bees to voluntarily take up residence in every single vacant hive. Beekeepers use the following additional methods to attract swarms during the swarming season:

Capture a swarm

There are many ways a beekeeper can collect a swarm of bees found hanging in a tree. It is possible to use any kind of suitable container (basket, cardboard box etc) and once collected, the bees can be settled into a hive in an apiary. When transferring a swarm into a receiving receptacle the key thing is to treat the clump of bees as a single unit and gently knock or sweep the bees into the receptacle ‘at one go’. Swarms should be relocated into hives as soon as possible. The method used depends on the beekeeper’s ingenuity and the way the swarm settled in the tree.

Trap a swarm using a swarm box or bait hive

A beekeeper seeking to obtain many swarms to stock his/her new hives needs to use swarm boxes or bait hives. For construction of swarm boxes:

• The size and volume must be large enough for an average swarm size (about one-third the volume of the hive in use);

• It should be easy to handle and move from one place to another;

• Its components, especially top-bars and/or frames must be compatible with the hives of the beekeeper (Figure 1).

Swarms can be trapped into hives or swarm boxes by the following steps:

1. Clean the swarm box or bait hive, preferably wash with water only (no soap) and dry

2. Rub the inside of the box with any of the following baiting materials:

a. Beeswaxb. Propolisc. Herbs such as lemon grass, some mints

d. Oils from Citrus fruits as found on the rind (orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, etc)

e. Oils from leaves of citrus plants

f. Other herbs and preparations known to local beekeepers.

Set the baited swarm box on the stem or branch of a pest-free tree (Figure 2). The higher the swarm box is placed, the better the chances of attracting a swarm. In view of this, some beekeepers apply the pulley system to place the swarm boxes in the top of tree canopies (Figure. 3a). The pulley method allows flying swarms to find swarm boxes easily. Swarms also face less enemy disturbance at the top of trees than at ground level. The method is effective and results can be quick (Figure 3b).

Make regular visits (at least once a week) to the baited boxes to check for the arrival of swarms. If a box is not colonised, open it and check for ants, lizards, spiders and other pests. Clean the box and re-bait it.

When a swarm box is occupied by a swarm, move it to the apiary as soon as possible. If a swarm has been in the bait hive for several days, it is likely that it will have started building combs. These are very fragile. Swarm relocation should be done in the evening when all foragers have returned. Precautions must be taken to handle the colony gently to avoid breaking newly built combs (Figure 4). When reaching the apiary, place the colonised box on top of a hive and inspect the nest for any broken combs. If there are any, fix them on to top-bars. Allow them to settle down for a few days before transferring into the hive. Take all precautions (such as the control of pests) to help the young colony to establish quickly.

Figure 4. Transporting two colonies of bees in swarm boxes with the greatest care

Figure 5. Setting swarm boxes in trees on a cashew farm