A group of Capital Region beekeepers are ready to answer the call for any swarms encountered by area residents.
B次元官网网址淲e wanted to notify people what they should do if they encounter a swarm. ThereB次元官网网址檚 quite a bit of bees swarming at this time of year and a lot of people donB次元官网网址檛 know what to do or who to phone,B次元官网网址� said Bob Kearney with the Capital Region Beekeepers Association.
He said residents can call the swarm line at 250-900-5787 and someone will come out and pick up the swarm for free.
Kearney said some beekeepers will use a vacuum with low suction to collect the bees, although he uses a cardboard box with a telescoping cover known as a swarm box.
B次元官网网址淚 knock the bees into the box and then I carry them away and dump them into a hive someplace else,B次元官网网址� said Kearney, who manages a number of hives in Saanich.
He says bees start to swarm when they get overcrowded, usually in the springtime after the queen has laid her eggs.
B次元官网网址淗alf of them will leave the hive with the old queen B次元官网网址� usually they find some kind of tree,B次元官网网址� said Kearney. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 when people donB次元官网网址檛 know whatB次元官网网址檚 going on and they think somethingB次元官网网址檚 wrong. ThereB次元官网网址檚 so many sometimes. You can get a swarm with thousands and thousands of bees land in a big clump on a tree. But thatB次元官网网址檚 absolutely normal.B次元官网网址�
Scout bees are sent out from the swarm to locate a suitable location for a hive. When the scout finds a suitable location, it will return to the swarm and perform a dance to indicate its whereabouts.
B次元官网网址淥ther scouts go out and check out the location. If they like the location better than the location that they found, then they change their dance to the new location. When theyB次元官网网址檙e all doing the same dance, they all fly off to the new location,B次元官网网址� said Kearney, indicating the process can take anywhere from several hours to several days.
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