๐งถ Swarming
Swarming is natural and good. This is how bee colony reproduces.
Healthy swarms usually are powerful and hyper-energized.
Swarming possibility increases if:
- Queen is old and thus needs natural way of replacement
- Space (amount of frames) is limited and thus it is a limit on colony growth
However, beekeepers want to handle and sometimes prevent swarming because:
- Swarming can happen too late (in late august-september). This means that the colony will not have sufficient time to build the nest and gather sufficient amount of resources to survive the winter
- Beekeepers cannot keep an eye on the colonies 24/7 to catch the swarm.
- Swarm can settle on too high up a tree, in a chimney or other areas that are hard to reach
- In urban environment, swarms can scare people / neighbours
So, preventing colony from swarming by splitting it beforehand is a way to avoid the hassle of catching swarm later.