A Swarm in July
Becky Masterman & Bridget Mendel
A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly.
Beekeepers love sayings, but we think this one needs a bit of revision. This famous swarm rating aphorism is credited to the mid-17th century where beekeepers were most certainly honey obsessed and not at all worried about Varroa mites, queen quality or keeping their neighbors happy (and swarm free). This old saying both elevates the worth of the May swarm and diminishes the potential of the July swarm and is not necessarily the best messaging for today’s 21st century beekeeper.
Once your swarm is managed for pests, you will have an extra queen to use in your operation. Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman
Here are some ideas about moving the swarm saying conversation forward:
A swarm in May’s Varroa
you must slay.
Prior to the arrival of Varroa, beekeepers in the U.S. had less to worry about when capturing swarms. Post-Varroa arrival, swarms became an easy way for these mites, loaded with viruses, to make their way to a new location. Aided by you, the beekeeper, the Varroa-virus complex is often placed right in the middle of a new apiary. Despite efforts to manage mites in your colonies, if you don’t practice a bit of biosecurity, your new swarm mite just increase this pesky parasite population in your beeyard.
Assume your swarm is carrying mites. If you want to be very careful, place your collected swarms in a new yard, and monitor and manage mites immediately. The broodless state of a swarm is an excellent opportunity to employ an oxalic acid control of your newly acquired mite critters. Check out the latest Varroa management tools at the Honey Bee Health Coalition website (https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/resources/varroa-management/).
Collecting swarms in June will make your neighbors swoon.
Almost no one wants their bees to swarm. There are many reasons why preventing your own colonies from swarming will help your own bee operation as well as make you a good beekeeper neighbor. Taking the Spring management step of dividing your colonies and making sure they have needed space will not only increase your colony number, but it prevents you from losing your foraging workforce at the height of the nectar flow. Most importantly, preventing your bees from swarming also prevents them from moving into your neighbor’s house. An added bonus, anyone who has collected a swarm in front of an audience has felt the adoration of the amazed onlookers. No one is questioning your Spring management strategies, but instead they are impressed with your bee handling skills and you will likely end up as the star of your neighbor’s social media post.
A swarm in July might be worth more than a fly.
First, we feel the need to defend the fly briefly. They actually have important ecological functions including being valuable members of the food chain and acting as pollinators (https://sciencing.com/importance-flies-10016971.html). Despite the mid-17th century beekeeper’s negative view on flies and July swarms, there are positives to both. After you collect your July swarm and monitor and manage their Varroa levels, there are many positives in adding them to your operation. But first, setting your swarm colony growth expectations is important. Your July swarm is not likely to draw out a significant amount of comb or collect surplus honey. Giving bees a drawn comb will help them get a jump-start on rearing brood and storing pollen and nectar.
A swarm in July means an extra queen on standby.
Having an extra queen is always helpful in case you discover a queen issue during colony inspections. If needed, you can simply combine your queenright swarm colony with your queenless colony (we like the newspaper method). Alternatively, you can place your swarm queen in a queen cage and slowly introduce her to your queenless colony. Once your swarm colony is queenless, they will raise a new queen and therefore replenish your extra queen supply.
A July swarm can be wintered in a single deep dorm.
If you don’t need an extra queen during the rest of the beekeeping season, you can winter bees in single deep boxes if your swarm colony doesn’t grow into your standard wintering configuration. We can winter single deep colonies (or double nuc colonies) in Minnesota. We feed them with 2:1 sugar syrup in the Fall to make sure they have enough food stores and wrap them for extra protection. If you are going to attempt to winter single deep or double nuc colonies, we suggest that you seek local advice for the best methods.
This 2022, late season swarm grew into two deeps quickly and overwintered
in Minnesota easily. They burst into Spring and have been divided twice in 2023.
Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman
Remember that bees might like to swarm or need to swarm.
If you winter your swarm colony successfully, manage them aggressively to prevent swarming the following Spring. It is possible that the bees are genetically predisposed to swarming or building up populations quickly that trigger swarming. Some colonies handle crowded conditions better than others. Divide your overwintered colony and make sure that the girls have enough space.
We are collecting modern beekeeper aphorisms. Please share your best beekeeping aphorism with us at: mindingyourbeesandcues@gmail.com.
Becky Masterman led the UMN Bee Squad from 2013-2019. Bridget Mendel joined the Bee Squad in 2013 and has led the program since 2020. Photos of Becky (left) and Bridget (right) looking for their respective hives. If you would like to contact the authors with your own July swarm success stories or beekeeping aphorisms, please send an email to mindingyourbeesandcues@gmail.com.
