Is regular swarming beneficial to bees or a disaster?

The ability to reproduce is contingent upon the colony's health.

If an organism is sterile, what becomes of it? Let's give that some thought. We would be completely bereft of rabbits—even in Australia—if they all ceased their mating behaviour. The supermarket shelves would be bare of moo juice if all cows stopped giving birth. What about honeybees, though? If colonies ceased to divide and swarm, they would eventually disappear into thin air as they circled the drain.

Still, swarming is a constant gripe for beekeepers. "Why did my bees swarm?" they ask with a hint of regret. "What went wrong?" they groan dejectedly. I don't know what to do to stop them. That's the same as telling teens they can't ride in the backseat. Said more easily than done.

An entire colony can reproduce at once by swarming.

A key concept for beekeepers to grasp is that swarming involves reproduction throughout the entire colony. This is vital, healthy, and organic. This phenomenon, which is crucial for the survival of the species, is known as the biological imperative. Assuming that swarming is exclusive to "unhappy" bees is absurd.

In the minds of beekeepers, queen mating is synonymous with "reproduction" and swarming is an undesirable phenomenon. The reproduction process of a superorganism, on the other hand, entails swarming in addition to queen mating. Keep in mind that even a queen bee that has mated cannot build a colony by herself. Having a team of servants and nurses to help with housekeeping and brood raising is essential for a queen. Indeed, the queen will not produce a few children, but thousands—huge swarms of ravenous mouths. She cannot raise them all on her alone.

Regulation of the swarming reaction

Those who lose a swarm are frequently looked down upon by beekeepers. Keeping swarms under control is important for several reasons, so that makes it logical. First of all, you would prefer not to see those bees go because they are busy making honey. Additionally, you should avoid landing your swarm on lampposts if you value your neighbours' peace and quiet and the smooth flow of traffic. While it's true that a skilled beekeeper can prevent swarming, it would be incorrect to attribute the urge to swarming to a lack of beekeeper competence.

Actually, I think it's the polar opposite. The beekeeper has accomplished great things if the colony is expanding rapidly and showing signs of restlessness to swarm. A colony's ability to reproduce is directly proportional to its fat and health. To the contrary, keep your bees weak and unwell if you would like them not to swarm. Colonies that are dying out will remain putty-like till the end.

The bee's brain is completely different from yours.

Our focus on hive circumstances, which are unrelated to the swarming impulse, is excessive. For instance, it's not uncommon to hear that a colony overflowed due to insufficient space provided by the beekeeper or an overabundance of bees. Okay, perhaps.

Despite this, we've all seen colonies that had an overwhelming amount of space swarm. Although additional honey storage or open nest space might postpone swarming, a colony that is determined to swarm will fill the brood nest with honey and build a honey barrier above it to get ready for the impending split. Swarming won't stop just because there's more space.

The swarm impulse remains intact no matter how you treat a beehive's interior. It originates from signals in our genes over which we have very little say. Although we humans are adept at reading and interpreting colony behaviour, we have no control over the inner workings of a bee's mind.

However, with practice, beekeepers can learn to interpret the symptoms and manage the swarm departure rate. Rather than actually curing swarming, many of the so-called "cures" just help manage when swarms occur. For instance, splits allow the colony to be divided before it even thinks about it. Good beekeepers lose fewer bees because they read the symptoms.

Changing our perspective on swarming

The science of swarm control is not something I plan to analyse. Some of the thousands of beekeepers' tried-and-true ways will really work, while others won't. Our attitude towards swarming is what I question, not our response to it.

A swarm is more of a blessing than a burden, and beekeepers would do well to remember this. The swarming bees are acting obligatedly. A swarming colony is an affluent colony that can easily split into two or three smaller colonies. Similar to a wolf pack with pups, a swarming colony will breed and disperse genetic material from its parents to create a new generation.

While dealing with swarms is inevitable for beekeepers, it is possible to make more informed management decisions by learning about the swarms' function and the benefits they bring to the species. This will allow you to harness the swarm impulse rather than fight it.