Bee Swarms
WHY DO AFRICAN BEES SWARM SO FREQUENTLY? WHAT CAUSES BEES TO SWARM?
A true "bee swarm" becomes a new separate African bee colony from its established African bee parent colony the minute the newly hatched queen bee and several thousand worker bees, separate and fly away from their parent African bee colony and, with a new queen bee, they then become a totally separate new African bee colony.
This bee swarm is called a "swarm" up until the time it selects a permanent location to build honeycomb, store honey and raise brood. It has its own worker bees, (who are all female and usually younger worker bees with "ripe" wax building glands) a queen bee, and often some male "drone" bees. A typical African bee swarm consists of between 8,000 to 12,000 bees. For reference, a bee swarm of 8,000 bees is the about the size of a football. As the African bee swarm moves away from its African honeybee parent colony, bee researchers believe that the bee swarm will attempt to move at least 3 miles away, before its scout bees begin to explore potential structural cavities in which to move, and then and there make a permanent home of their own.
The African bee swarm always lands before exploring for a structural cavity and will form a "glob" on or in vegetation. From this resting site, special singular scout bees will immediately fly out staying within line-of-sight of the bee swarm, to locate a structural cavity nearby in which to move. Multiple potential sites may be scouted and considered, but only one will be chosen to occupy. Once a site is chosen, the African bees will move quickly to occupy it.
Unlike domestic honeybees, African honeybees swarm throughout the year as part of their overall survival strategy. In their ancestral homelands in South and West Africa, much like in Arizona, conditions are dry and arid and African bees prefer to live in the lowlands where forage sources and water are much more likely to be available. However, lowlands also provide a greater opportunity for seasonal flooding from monsoons, fires because of vegetation and heavy predation from animals that also live in these areas for the same reason. Frequent swarming preserves the species from these harsh environmental conditions. Frequent swarming is also the reason why African bees infest areas so quickly.
Another practical reason why African bees swarm frequently is to prevent disease. By subdividing the colony frequently, the bees avoid the spread of disease and parasites in any particular bee hive. This is a major reason why African bees are resistant to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).