By Carol Babeli, Communications Director, Los Angeles Audubon

A swarm of thousands of bees swooped into our front yard on a recent hot afternoon in October. The sound was incredible, buzzing so loudly that it attracted the attention of my neighbors. The bees quickly formed a cluster about double the size of a large football, piling up one on top of another in our bracelet myrtle tree. Then the buzzing stopped and they were calm. I called a local beekeeper who manages several hives in the area. He arrived with his equipment and managed to get most of the bees into the bee box, which he left on our property overnight to collect the next day. However, the next morning all of the bees had left the box and moved into the adjacent tree in our yard. By the time the beekeeper returned, all of the bees had flown off looking for a new place to build a hive. While the beekeeper left empty-handed, I scored a jar of local honey that he had on his truck!

Both the European Honey Bees and Africanized Honey Bees swarm. They swarm when the original colony has become overcrowded and split off in order to establish a new home. While a large mass of bees buzzing through the air may seem threatening, its only purpose is to establish a new home. A swarm will often find a place to rest, in the branch of a tree or other comfortable spot, for a day or two, and then it will usually move on. According to bee experts, if the swarm does not leave after 2-3 days, but instead stays and begins to build a nest, it is best to have it removed by a licensed beekeeper as soon as possible. Do not use pesticides!

According to the Planet Bee Foundation, planting a pollinator garden helps honeybees immensely. Bees rely on the nectar and pollen from nearby flowers for their survival; when flowers are scarce, bees can starve. By planting a pollinator garden, you're ensuring that bees have a source of food year round — just be sure your garden is pesticide free. By buying local raw honey, you support local beekeepers and their bees, and therefore the environmental health of your own town or city, as well as your own health. Unlike pasteurized honey, raw honey comes straight from the hive and is unheated, unpasteurized and undiluted, which means it retains all the antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and delicious flavor.

Published by Los Angeles Audubon Society, Western Tanager, Vol. 87 No. 2, November–December 2020