Swarm Season Secrets: How to Lure Bees the Natural Way
- Milla Aseyev
- May 10
- 5 min read
In "Honeybee Democracy," Thomas D. Seeley explores one of the most captivating processes in the natural world: how honeybees collectively decide where to build their next home. This well-researched book offers practical guidance for beekeepers hoping to attract swarms, especially when sizing and placing swarm traps. If you don't have this book but want to get into swarm catching, I highly recommend you get it. The information in it is second to none.
In this blog, I hope to provide a quick reference on how to know if your bees are about to swarm, what bees look for in a new home, bee highways, and how to put it all together.
Why Bees Swarm
A strong, healthy colony often outgrows its hive by late spring or early summer. When this happens, the colony raises a new queen, and the old queen leaves with about half the workers - this is called a swarm. The swarm temporarily clusters on a branch or other surface, called a bivouac, while scout bees search for suitable nest sites.
How to know if your bees are about to swarm
The Buzz Changes—Literally
One of the first signs of a potential swarm is the sound of the hive. A colony preparing to swarm often hums with a different tone: a more intense, electric-sounding buzz, especially during warm midday hours. It's not frantic, but it feels charged—like something is about to happen. Beekeepers who've experienced it call it the "swarmy buzz." Listen closely - your bees may be telling you something.
Worker Bees Get Excited and Restless
As swarm season approaches, typically from mid-spring to early summer, the energy within the hive noticeably shifts. You may observe more bees engaging in "washboarding" or clustering near the entrance. The worker bees seem more active than usual, zipping in and out with a sense of urgency. In contrast, the number of guard bees may increase, and they can even become aggressive.
Inside the hive, workers start to reduce the amount of food given to the queen, preparing her for flight by making her slimmer. You will also see workers rousing each other by standing on one another and buzzing while wiggling their bodies. Once enough workers get excited and begin buzzing together, they will start to push the queen towards the entrance in preparation for the swarm.
This buzzing and the active pushing by other workers are clear signs that your colony is getting ready to swarm. This behavior usually begins well before swarm cells are drawn out.
The Big Clue: Swarm Cells
The most concrete evidence your hive is preparing to swarm is the appearance of swarm cells—large, peanut-shaped queen cells usually built along the bottom or edges of brood frames. These differ from supersedure cells (which are mid-frame and fewer in number). Swarm cells are often multiple, and once they're capped, it's a strong sign the colony will swarm soon—often within a few days. If you open your hive and see capped swarm cells, swarm season is in full swing for your bees. The picture below shows supersedure cells, but swarm cells will look similar, except they will be found at the bottom of the frame. Care should be taken not to flip the frame upside down, as the larvae inside will perish.
What Bees Look for in a New Home
Seeley's experiments, reveal that bees are remarkably selective. The most attractive nest sites share several key characteristics:
Volume: Approximately 40 liters
Entrance size: About 1.5 inches wide
Height: 10 to 20 feet off the ground
Entrance direction: Ideally south or southeast
Shelter: Dry, dark, and not drafty or letting in water
Scent: Old comb (the dark comb) or lemongrass oil increases attraction
Scout bees evaluate these features and perform waggle dances to "campaign" for their preferred site. The more scouts agree on a site, the more convincing their dances become until the swarm reaches a democratic consensus.
Bee Highways: How Swarms and Bees Travel
Once a site is chosen, the swarm doesn't just fly there in a chaotic cloud. Instead, it travels in a surprisingly organized and intentional way—a streamlined flight path where thousands of bees follow the lead of experienced scouts. These scout bees fly out ahead and release pheromone trails in the air to guide the swarm.
The flight is not aimless. Bees use bee Highways and Man-Made landmarks to navigate. They use a mix of natural and man-made landmarks to create flight paths, often called "bee highways."
1. Fences, Roads, and Power Lines
Fence lines, dirt roads, and power lines act as aerial cues for bees. These consistent visual markers assist bees in maintaining a straight path back to their hive or scouting for thier new homes. Swarms have been observed following fence rows or tree lines that border human properties. So when I give directions using only these land structures, I'm not lost; I'm simply communicating in a way that bees would understand.
2. Buildings and Rooflines
Barns, sheds, and houses can serve as reference points for orientation flights and returning foragers. Bees memorize the surrounding landscape during their first few flights from the hive, and the straight lines and contrasting colors of buildings help them lock in their location with precision.
3. Utility Poles and Signs
Even isolated objects such as mailboxes, utility poles, or road signs can serve as visual markers in seemingly open areas. Bees utilize various cues to form their mental map, often combining them with scent trails and the position of the sun for navigation.
4. Swarm Flight Paths and Urban Navigation
During a swarm, bees don't just take off blindly—they follow a scout-led route that often weaves through both natural and artificial landmarks. In towns and rural areas, swarms have been known to navigate through neighborhoods, parking lots, and building walls, all while keeping their destination in sight.
Why It Matters to Beekeepers
Understanding how bees use man-made structures can help you:
Position your hives or swarm traps near travel corridors they already use
Avoid placing hives near conflicting landmarks like large reflective surfaces or heavily trafficked areas
Predict swarm directions by watching which routes scouts frequently travel.
Using This Knowledge to Catch Swarms
By replicating the bees' preferred nest site, you can greatly increase your chances of catching a swarm. Use a 40-liter box, place it 10–15 feet high, face the entrance southeast, and use old comb or a few drops of lemongrass oil to simulate a well-used hive.
Place your traps along known swarm routes, such as forest edges, tree lines, and near apiaries. When moving through the environment, bees often follow familiar landscape features, like hedgerows, forest corridors, and ridgelines. If you have caught a swarm or seen one in the area, chances are there will be another in the same place during swarm season.
Comments