Why do bees want to swarm?

Our hives start as single boxes, but as they grow larger we stack a second box on top to give them more space! Each vertical stack of boxes is a unique colony.

What's new on the farm:

It's been an amazing spring so far on Vancouver Island.

We have had perfect conditions for the hives, and they are showing it.

Our hives are growing and growing. Soon they're going to be bursting.

Now that is great, but it brings its own stress. If the hives get too strong, without intervention, they will swarm.

Andrew and the crew have been working all week to stop this from happening!

Swarming might be a beekeeping term that you have already heard of.

But what is it exactly? It's how honeybees naturally reproduce and make a new colony.

Previously, I mentioned making "splits" from stronger hives. This is taking part of a hive (splitting it) and giving it a new queen, creating a brand new hive.

Of course, honeybees have existed for a long time before humans got involved. They don't need us to know how to split on their own.

When the hive feels too full, the bees can sense it. And they begin preparing to split up so they have enough room.

First, they will begin to raise new queen cells. They will start feeding some larvae with royal jelly so that they develop into queen bees.

The old queen is the one who will leave the colony behind for a new queen to take over. When a queen is laying, she is too heavy to travel long distances. Right before the old queen is ready to leave, she will stop laying eggs. The workers will also stop feeding her so she can slim down.

When the new queen bees are growing in their cells, the old queen and about half the worker bees take off. They leave the new queens and the rest of the bees behind.

This step is when you hear of a "swarm" of bees flying around together. Experiencing a swarm in flight is a pretty incredible thing. Thousands and thousands of bees are flying together, and all you hear is the loud humming of the bees buzzing together.

It can seem very intimidating, but the bees are actually not aggressive at all because they don't have anything to defend. They have left all the food and brood of their previous hive behind.

The workers and the queen may stop to take a break on a nearby tree branch. Some worker bees will act as scouts and fly off to find a suitable new home. Then they report back with the location for the rest of the bees to follow.

Before a swarm takes off, the worker bees gorge on honey so that they have enough energy for the trip. They are leaving the rest of the food behind and can only take what they can in their stomachs.

So the swarm needs to find a new home fast. They need to start gathering food and build up their stores soon, or they will starve.

As a beekeeper, you really hate to see a hive swarm. That's half of your livestock flying away!

To prevent it, you have to listen to the bees and stay in tune with how the bees are feeling about their space. You keep watch for signs that they are feeling too crowded.

Are they building new queen cells? Is there room for the queen to lay eggs? Are the frames too full of honey and pollen?

If you're keeping watch, you can be proactive. You can give the hive more space by taking out excess frames of food or adding another box on top of the hive.

Or you can split up the colony yourself, which gives the bees a new home, a new queen, and more space.

That way, the bees get what they want, which is more room and a safe home.

And you get to keep your bees!

Chocolate Protein "Ice Cream" (whole foods only)

This is a honey-sweetened "ice cream" that's made with cottage cheese and nut butter, so you can feel full and satisfied with healthy protein and fats.

I love it when you can make a tasty treat with real, whole foods. Often, it's a much better alternative to buying a "healthy" packaged food version at the grocery store, since those typically have extra ingredients to help stabilize the food and extend its shelf life.

For example, this recipe contains: Cottage cheese, honey, cacao powder, almond butter, vanilla extract.

A comparable high-protein "healthy" brand at the grocery store contains: Skim milk, eggs, cream, erythritol, organic cane sugar, milk protein concentrate, cocoa, vegetable glycerin, dietary fibre, sea salt, organic carob gum, organic guar gum, organic stevia extract.

Plus, this one is so easy to make, and you only need something that can blend (food processor, blender, or even immersion blender!) and a freezer.

Save this one for when the weather gets hot (if it isn't already!) and you can have a delicious, nutrient-packed afternoon treat for a hot day.

Check out the recipe from Avocado Skillet.