TULSA, Okla. — It's that time of year when people may start to see more swarms of bees, but one area beekeeper is pleading for you to not break out the raid.
Swarm season is considered the reproductive process where colonies are dividing and establishing new ones. Those new colonies are now trying to find a new home.
In the search for a new home, people may notice swarms of bees in places like trees, flower bushes, or sometimes even on items like cars, kids toys, and grills. It happens typically between March to June.
This can be startling and make people uncomfortable. However, one Tulsa beekeeper is asking people to not kill them instead call a professional to come remove them.
“It’s important to save these bees because one third of our food is actually pollinated by bees and without those bees we wouldn’t be able to eat the fruits, nuts and vegetables that we like to eat. So they are important for our food source,” said James Deming, beekeeper for Shadow Mountain Honey Company.
Deming explains when you call an organization that does bee removal, they will come out and put the bees in a bucket or box. The goal to get all of them is to find the queen bee. He said when you remove the queen bee and relocate her, the rest of the bees will follow.
He also said if you come across a swarm be calm.
“Some swarms can get a little angry but it's not typical. Typically bee swarms are very docile," he said. "People overreact to 'Oh my gosh. I have thousands of bees in my tree.' Just calm down make a phone call. It will be taken care of. They are generally very gentle.”
Deming said the only time they get angry is when they feel the need to protect their colony from a threat. Plus, a honey bee dies after stinging so he said it’s not their first instinct to do.
So if you do see a swarm in an unwanted place, don’t panic just call a beekeeper.
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