At last the weather has warmed and things have been very busy. The bees have been building up their numbers and the warmer weather has given them a chance to get out and start collecting nectar and pollen. The queens are now starting to ramp up laying eggs and they are producing up to 2000 new bees a day. The colony population is increasing rapidly, and once it reaches a certain point the bees will start to think about swarming.
The old queen bee up and leaves (taking half the workers with her), she leaves behind her daughter who will hatch and take over the job of producing new bees. 
I am on the British Beekeepers swarm collectors list, which means if a swarm is spotted locally I get a call to pick it up and rehouse the bees. This month has been a bit manic with swarms popping up all over the area.
So far…..
3 from Bagshot,
1 from Ravenswood Roundabout.
1 from Farm Road. (near Tomlinscote)
1 from Mychett.
As well as a few calls about bumble bees, and wasps. The bees are housed in a small travelling box before they are taken to the apiary, checked for disease and housed in a nice new des-res hive.
