With February coming to a rapid end there are several certainties which most residents of panhandle Florida recognize. There is the realization that cold weather is coming to an end.
Admittedly, there are still a few cold mornings left, but with the lengthening days the possibility of frost and freezes is retreating fast. The flora and fauna are responding to the warming temperatures and increasing minutes of sunlight.
Many native and exotic plants have established buds which will produce flowers in the coming days and weeks. Many azaleas have already begun their blooming cycle, as well as Carolina Jessamine.
These and other blossoms encourage the activity of insects, especially pollinators. After months of being cooped up or in a state of suspended animation, these bugs are ready to check out everything nature has to offer.
For honeybees this may mean part of the hive will search out a new location to call home.
When the honeybees decide their home is too small, a group will be led away by a new queen to find better quarters. While the buzzing cluster of honeybees may be a bit intimidating, they have no evil intent.
This is what healthy honeybee colonies, both domestic and wild, will do every spring. They have the instinct to know when their current housing space has reached its maximum capacity and it is time for a newly hatched queen to lead a swarm of worker bees, all female, to a new location.
The initial foray to a new home begins with the departing honeybees collecting near the hive. Conveniently located tree branches are a common collection site, but these social insects may assemble their colonizing swarm on structures such as roof peaks.
The sight of a buzzing bundle of insects frequently causes concern for the property owner who is inexperienced with the honeybee’s intent and objectives. Contrary to Hollywood’s portrayal of these pollinators, honeybees have no plan to malevolently evict people from their homes or attack domestic animals.
Once all the relocating honeybees have emerged from the hive, they cluster around the new queen at their temporary site. Soon scout worker honeybees begin exploring for a new nesting location.
As the scouts return to the temporary swarm location, they report on their exploratory efforts by doing what has been described as a dance. It is thought the dance signals the direction and distance to the proposed location for the new nest.
The more animated and excited the worker’s dance, the more likely she will convince other scouting workers to follow her back to the possible new home site for further assessment. Depending on the number of favorable reports back to the swarm, the process of elimination for a new home may take up to several days to complete.
If the swarm is attacked at the temporary site, they will move to a new and safer site while their exploration continues. Once the new hive site has been selected, all the honeybees will vacate the temporary site.
Panhandle Florida’s beekeepers do their best to keep their hives from swarming to new locations. They do this by moving some of the worker honeybees to empty hive boxes and installing a new queen.
The labor-intensive process takes several days to make sure the workers accept the new queen, and their new home. Still in most cases, it is less of a hassle for the honeybees to accept a new hive box and stay in the old neighborhood.
For those in the area who want to learn more about the coming spring activities of honeybees, attend the Honeybee Short Course on February 22, 2025. It is offered by the Apalachee Beekeepers’ Association and will be held at 84 Cedar Avenue in Crawfordville, FL.
For details visit the Apalachee Beekeepers Association website at www.apalacheebeekeepers.com and join the fun this Saturday.
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