Don't Fear Honeybee Swarms

[Pilgarlic]

This is the time of year we begin to see Honeybee swarms. If you see a solid mass of honeybees hanging from a tree branch, or anywhere, don't panic. Honeybees are not aggressive. These bees have left a colony that had become overcrowded, and they're in the process of establshing a new colony in a new location. Left alone, they will within a few days move along to their new "digs". If they are on your property and you want them gone for any reason, contact the Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association, or look on their website for the names of beekeepers who would be more than happy to come get them. A note on Africanized bees: even these bees are not "aggressive" when in this "swarming" state. They won't attack until they've become established in a new home. Then they will have something to defend. Until they do, they will behave as peacefully as non-Africanized honeybees, that is, very peacefully.