Swarm Season: Bees in Middle Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Swarms of bees have been spotted across the country.
Middle Tennessee is in the middle of swarm season which continues until June. Tammy Cherney, hobbyist beekeeper, and the Secretary of Beekeepers of Middle Tennessee said the warm and wet weather has affected swarming lately.
“Last year we saw a lot of swarms in a very short window of time and this year it’s kind of been we’ll see a swarm and then the weather will cool off and then as soon as the weather warms back up then you’ll see a few more swarms.”
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Megan Hastings, a local beekeeper, said the bees are outgrowing their hive this time of year and need to find a new place to call home.
“Part of the reason why they swarm is they start getting really, really, crowded at this time. Some of the hives are getting really full of bees and they need to separate. Baby bees are being born every day and so sometimes when the hive gets crowded, or not enough space for them to make honey, they will say ‘Okay, we’re going to swarm. We’re going to take half of our bees’ and then they leave half.”
Hastings went to help after a friend called and said a swarm was on the Park View Elementary School sign in Putnam County.
“I grabbed all my gear which is my suit, my smoker, my queen clip, my hive, which is basically the box that I put them in, and I go back over there and of course, I got there and realized there was two separate swarms.”
She ended up saving three swarms and took them back to her personal apiary.
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Cherney has had 8-10 removal calls so far this year. She said she would happily help with removals that are outside, but if the bees move into a home, it’s best to call a professional.
“It can be in columns of homes, columns are like hollow trees, you know, you’re giving them a hollow tree then this an ideal home for a bee. So like, make sure those places are closed up, make sure if you have a column that it’s secure in such a way that bees can’t get into it because it is a perfect home, you’re just saying hey, come, we’ll move into my house basically. And so those are the calls I get a lot or like either in soffits or in in columns. When I help people who go and do those removals in homes, I tell them make sure especially if you have somebody who might be doing the removal for you who’s not a professional who’s done it, make sure that they feel that space that cavity back with something and secure it. Because once bees have lived in a location, they can smell where bees have been and they will return to that location over and over again.”
These bees are not as aggressive when they are swarming, but it’s still best to call someone for removal said Cherney.
“When bees are in swarms, they are actually incredibly mellow. They’re probably their least aggressive state.”
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If you have a swarm that needs to be removed, you can find a list of beekeepers here.
Cherney recommends joining local Facebook groups if you are interested in learning more about beekeeping including Beekeepers of Middle TN. She is also a member of the Nashville area Beekeepers Association and the Tennessee Beekeeping Association. You can find her podcast called “The Tea About Bees” wherever you get your podcasts.
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