I found this great picture of swarm cells today There are 7 cells in this image!
When the colony begins to feel like their home is becoming overpopulated the workers begin to create these swarm cells ( for a new queen) so essentially they are waiting for the cells to emerge a virgin queen, if there is more than one virgin they will battle to the death until there is only one left to rule, however just before this occurs the old queen will flee the hive taking with her a SWARM of her most loyal attendants and they will leave in search of a new home together. This tends to happen in the beginning of May. Hopefully if this is your hive that swarms you can find and catch the swarm and acclimate it with a new unoccupied hive, because before these bees swarm they first fill their little bellies full of nectar to prepare. And when bees have bellies full of nectar, it means they are ready to draw lots of comb, which they secrete from a series glands on their abdomens. And this is why it is so great to start as a new beekeeper with a swarm as apposed to a package of bees ( who are all pissed of from their long journey, and malnourished)
You might ask how do I find a swarm. If you feel like you don't have the time in your life to go hunting for swarms to catch there are other ways, for instance if you live in Maine, we have a swarm list you can sign up for through the Maine Beekeepers Association. So when someone finds a swarm in their yard and wants nothing to do with it, they call the town and the town calls the next person on the list. Its a Win Win!
If the idea of catching a swarm of bees sounds frightening to you, there are always plenty of beekeepers who would love to help out!
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