Can One Bee Hive Turn Into Multiple Colonies?

Can one hive split into multiple colonies? How swarming works and what safe relocation looks like

Bees are good at growing their numbers and keeping the species going. Swarming is how a single honey bee colony reproduces: one colony becomes two, sometimes more. That’s how bees spread their genes, move into new territory and keep enough genetic variety across populations. Below I’ll go through how a colony splits, what to look for if a new hive shows up on your property, and how to move a colony humanely when it has to go. If you’d rather hand it off to someone who does this every day, I do safe, environmentally minded relocations at Eli the Bee Guy, and I look out for your property and the bees both.

Understanding colony splitting: how bees form new hives

Colony splitting, which everyone calls swarming, is how honey bees reproduce at the colony level. It kicks off when a hive gets crowded, packed with bees, honey and brood. The colony starts raising new queens in special, larger queen cells. When those virgin queens are close to hatching, the old queen usually leaves with a big share of the workers. That group is the primary swarm, and it goes off to start a new nest. The bees that stay behind keep the original hive, and one of the new queens takes over so the parent colony carries on. That cycle is a big part of why bee populations stay strong and genetically mixed from one area to the next.

How well bees coordinate all this says a lot about how smart a colony is as a group. Researchers are still working out exactly how colonies handle several queens hatching during a split so that both the parent colony and the new one survive.

How colonies remove extra queens during swarming

Honey bee colonies produce multiple unmated queens during fission, but only one typically remains in the parental nest. Extra queens are eliminated by three main routes: direct queen‑queen fights, preventing some queens from emerging, or those queens leaving with a secondary swarm.

Three mechanisms of queen elimination in swarming honey bee colonies, DC Gilley, 2005

What makes a colony expand naturally through swarming?

A few things work together to push a colony to swarm. Crowding is the most common and most direct cause. Bees need room to store honey and pollen and to grow the brood nest. Plenty of food, meaning strong nectar and pollen flows, plus good weather, especially in spring and early summer, pushes colonies hard to reproduce. When conditions line up like that, bees take the chance to split and settle new sites, which gives them the best odds of reproducing.

A lot also happens inside the colony. As the hive fills up, the queen’s pheromone gets spread thin. That pheromone is a chemical signal that tells the colony she’s there and keeps the workers from raising new queens. Once it’s diluted, the workers take that as a cue and start building queen cells and raising queens. Around the same time, the old queen lays fewer eggs and slims down so she can handle the flight when she leads the swarm out. Between the chemical signals, the conditions outside and those changes in behavior, the colony times the swarm and carries it out.

How do scout bees find new hive sites?

Scout bees are the colony’s house hunters. Small groups of experienced foragers range out across the area looking for cavities or sheltered spots with good access to food, protection from the weather and an entrance they can defend. When a scout finds a possible site, she checks it over carefully, then goes back to the swarm cluster and does the well-known waggle dance. The dances tell the others the direction and distance to each site. Scouts keep dancing, the options get compared against each other, and eventually the swarm agrees on the best spot. Picking a good site that way matters a lot, because a bad one can sink the new colony.

Here’s what scout bees look for in a new home:

• Cavity volume. Scouts strongly prefer a cavity of a certain size, typically around 40 liters (approximately 1.4 cubic feet). That’s enough room for comb, honey and future growth without being too big or too small.
• Entrance size and direction. The ideal site has a small entrance that’s easy to defend, often facing south or southeast. Facing that way catches morning sun, which helps the colony warm up and regulate temperature, and a small opening keeps predators out and makes defense easier.
• Shelter from the weather. The site has to protect the colony from strong wind, heavy rain and direct, hot sun so the inside stays stable.
• Food and water nearby. It isn’t always the deciding factor, but being close to plenty of flowers (nectar and pollen) and a reliable water source is a big plus, because the new colony doesn’t have to fly as far to forage.
• No pests or disease. Scouts stay away from spots with signs of ants, rodents or other threats, or any sign of disease, so the new colony starts out healthy.

How a swarm travels: from departure to new home

For honey bees, swarming is a big and risky trip. It starts when the old queen and roughly half of the worker bees leave the original hive. That first cluster, often thousands of bees, usually lands for a while on a nearby branch, fence post or building overhang and forms a thick mass that looks a bit like a beard. That resting spot isn’t the new home. It’s a staging area while the scouts, who were already out looking, step up the search for a permanent place. The swarm is exposed to predators and weather during this stretch, so it’s a dangerous time for the bees.

While they’re clustered, which can be anywhere from a few hours to several days, swarms are usually gentle. They have no comb, honey or brood to defend, and all they care about is finding a home. Once the scouts settle on the best site through their ‘waggle dance democracy,’ the whole swarm lifts off again and flies together, very precisely, to the cavity they picked. As soon as they get there they start building comb, the queen starts laying, and the colony gets established quickly, going from a cluster in transit to a working colony that can support itself. Getting set up fast matters a lot for whether they survive long term. It’s also why a swarm that’s been sitting on your fence for a day can be inside your wall building comb the next. Calling early really does make the job smaller.

Collective Intelligence in Swarm Migration

Honey bee swarms exhibit a sophisticated form of collective intelligence during migration, where thousands of individuals coordinate to make a single, optimal decision about a new nest site. This process involves scout bees identifying potential sites, communicating their findings through waggle dances, and engaging in a democratic decision-making process that ensures the selection of the best available option for the colony’s future.

Honeybee Democracy, Thomas D. Seeley, 2010

What are the signs a new hive is forming on your property?

Catching a new hive or a swarm early on your property makes it a lot easier and safer to deal with. The main things to watch for are more bee traffic than usual, queen cells inside an open hive (if you keep one), and tight clusters of bees on trees, fences or eaves. Not every cluster turns into a permanent hive, but these signs usually mean a colony is getting ready to move, or just arrived and is scouting for a permanent spot.

How to spot early indicators of swarms and new colonies

Property owners should watch for these signs, especially during peak swarm season (typically spring and early summer). Here in Southern California we don’t get a real winter, so bees stay active year round and I see swarms well outside those months too:

• More bees flying. A clear, steady increase in bees around one structure, tree or part of the yard often means a hive or swarm is close. You might see a lot more bees going in and out of one opening, like a crack in a wall, a vent or a hole in a tree.
• Queen cells. If you keep bees or can look safely, larger peanut-shaped cells (often along the bottom edges of the comb) mean the colony is raising new queens and is probably getting ready to swarm.
• Clustering. Bees bunched up in a thick, beard-shaped mass on a tree, fence post, utility pole or overhang are usually a swarm that just left its hive. They’re either resting or waiting for the scouts to pick a permanent site. Clusters can be anywhere from softball size to basketball size or bigger.

Besides what you can see, researchers are developing acoustic monitoring to detect whether a queen is present and to predict swarms more reliably and precisely, without opening the hive.

Using sound and vibration to detect swarming

Researchers are exploring acoustic and vibration recordings to identify queen presence and other swarming indicators. Those methods could improve precision beekeeping by offering earlier, noninvasive warnings of impending swarms.

Acoustic and vibration monitoring of honeybee colonies for beekeeping‑relevant aspects of presence of queen bee and swarming, C Uthoff, 2023

What risks do multiple colonies pose for homeowners and businesses?

More than one colony on a property, especially inside the structure, can cause real problems and real hazards. For homeowners, bees living in walls, attics, chimneys or even under the floor can do serious structural damage. Over time comb full of honey gets very heavy and can collapse. Then honey leaks through ceilings and walls, leaves ugly stains, draws in other pests (ants, rodents, cockroaches), and can ruin drywall, insulation and electrical wiring. A big, busy colony can also weaken wood framing over time and keep up a buzzing you can hear all day. The longer a hive sits in a wall or roof, the more comb it builds and the bigger the mess when it finally comes out. If you think you have an established hive, get professional bee hive removal right away.

For businesses, hives on site can get in the way of operations, give customers a bad impression, and create serious liability for customers and staff. Businesses also have their own problems to worry about: possible health code violations if bees are near food service, customers avoiding the entrance, and a higher chance of employees or customers getting stung, which can mean serious allergic reactions and legal liability. Getting the bees removed quickly and professionally keeps people safe and protects your business’s reputation. When colonies show up on a commercial building, call someone who handles removals safely and legally and with as little disruption as possible, like my commercial bee removal service.

There’s a money side too. Spotting and catching swarms early can change the costs and benefits for beekeepers and property owners alike, and that affects decisions about whether to step in and what to spend.

Why detecting swarms matters economically

Studies model the economic tradeoffs of catching swarms versus letting them go. Early detection can change the costs and benefits for both beekeepers and landowners, influencing decisions about intervention.

When It Pays to Catch a Swarm—Evaluation of the Economic Importance of Remote Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Colony Swarming Detection, A Zacepins, 2021

Preventative measures: making your property less attractive to swarms

Swarming is a natural and necessary part of a honey bee’s life, and I wouldn’t want to stop it even if I could. But you can take real steps to make it less likely bees pick your home or business as a new nest site. A little prevention can save you time and money, and maybe save you from needing a removal at all.

• Seal entry points. Go over the property carefully for cracks, crevices, gaps and open spots in walls, eaves, attics, foundations and around utility lines. Seal any opening larger than 1/8 inch (the approximate width of a pencil), because bees can get through surprisingly small spaces. Caulk, expanding foam or fine mesh screen will do it. Check the usual spots too, like cracked stucco, gaps under roof tiles, the tops of block walls and the holes where pipes go through.
• Fix damage. Repair damaged siding, loose fascia boards, broken vents and worn-out soffits right away, since those give bees easy access to sheltered voids in the building. Make sure the screens on windows and vents are in one piece.
• Clean out old hives and nests. If you’ve had a bee or wasp nest removed before, make sure all the comb, honey residue and pheromone traces were cleaned out. Leftover scent is a strong draw for new swarms looking for a spot that’s already proven itself.
• Trim plants back. Keep trees, shrubs and thick growth cut well back from the building, especially around roofs, windows and eaves. That makes it harder for scouts to get in and makes your property less inviting as a resting spot for swarms.
• Put bee-friendly plants away from the house. Pollinators are good to have around, but if you’re worried about bees moving into your home, don’t plant the most attractive flowering plants right up against your walls or doorways. Put pollinator gardens farther away from the main buildings.

How does humane swarm relocation work?

Humane relocation means moving bees without hurting them, so the colony stays together and can do well somewhere suitable. Trained people use gentle, non-lethal methods to collect the bees and rehome them with as little stress on the colony as possible. Done this way, it protects people and property and also helps keep local pollinators around, and we need them for our ecosystems and our food.

What are the steps for safe, eco-friendly bee removal?

This is how a humane relocation usually goes when I do it at Eli the Bee Guy. More detail here: safe methods for honey bee removal in your backyard

• Looking the hive over. First I check how big the colony is, exactly where it is, and anything about access that could make removal harder. That includes finding where the queen is if I can and getting a read on the colony’s temperament, so I can pick the safest plan that will work.
• Gentle extraction. No poison and no spray. Using bee boxes, soft brushes or low-pressure bee vacuums made for live bee removal, I move the whole colony without injuring the bees whenever possible. The main goal is catching the queen safely, because most of the swarm will follow her into the new box on their own.
• After the move. Once the bees are moved to a suitable apiary or location, I keep an eye on the new site to make sure the colony is settling in. I also check and seal the original spot so future swarms don’t move back in. That usually means cleaning up leftover pheromones and sealing the entry points.

Why hire professionals instead of attempting DIY removal?

Handing a bee removal to someone experienced is a lot better than trying it yourself, and trying it yourself can be dangerous:

• Safety. A professional knows bee behavior and has the right protective gear and tools, so the chance of stings and dangerous situations, including severe allergic reactions, goes way down.
• Results. Trained beekeepers use methods that are humane and that also work, keeping the colony together and keeping bees from coming back. Knowing how bees behave is what makes a relocation stick.
• Conservation. Choosing humane, professional removal helps keep local pollinators healthy. Over the long run that’s good for gardens, farms and everything else around them, including biodiversity and the food supply. A good professional cares about the bees and the job they do out there.

Comparison of Bee Removal Approaches

Contact Eli the Bee Guy Today

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Skip the DIY removal and the extermination. I do safe, humane bee relocation for homes and businesses, with no pesticides, and my crew handles the smaller jobs. Your property gets protected and so do the pollinators.

Humane, professional removal keeps your property from getting damaged and keeps alive the bees that our food and our wild plants depend on. If you find a swarm or think you have a hive on your property, call someone who can figure out what’s going on and relocate the colony responsibly, so it works out for you and for the bees.