Honey Bees are a highly developed species of the animal world and contribute significantly to the sustainability of the eco-system in all areas – urban environment, farming areas and bush lands. In Africa alone there are an estimated 3000 species of bees and throughout the world some 20,000 different species. In South Africa we have two main species – apis mellifera scutellata which is found throu
ghout South Africa except the Cape areas, and apis mellifera capensis, the Cape bee which was originally restricted to the Western and Eastern Cape area. The swarming season in South Africa lasts generally from September through to February. We remove and relocate unwanted bees in a professional and eco-friendly manner, taking care to handle them as humanely and carefully as possible. Unfortunately, not all swarms can be humanely removed and relocated. For example a swarm which has been lodged deep in a trunk of an old tree for a number of seasons and has been allowed to grow may be difficult if not impossible to remove. It is always advisable to remove swarms as early as possible before they have had an opportunity to settle and become protective of their comfortable home. Please note that bee removals are generally done in the evening especially with settled (as opposed to migratory) swarms. During the day up to a third of the bees in the colony are out foraging so it does not make sense to try and remove the swarm during the day. Also it is potentially dangerous to do so as swarms are very protective of their home and may become aggressive. This is why we prefer to remove swarms in the cool of the evening when it is possible to calm the bees and move them into a catch box for translocation.
