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Tuesday, 8 April 2025

What to do About a Swarm of Bees in the Touraine Loire Valley

The answer is short and simple: contact a beekeeper immediately and they will come and collect the swarm. A beekeeper in France is an apiculteur. You can find contact details for dozens in your area by doing a simple internet search. 

Honey bee swarm, Indre et loire, France. Photo by loire Valley Time Travel.

The sooner they are collected the better, for their own well-being, and for yours. If they are collected promptly it protects them from being caught out in bad weather (cold and/or wet), which is not uncommon in spring. It also gives them less time to become settled in an inappropriate new home, like your chimney or behind your shutters.

Honey bee swarm, loir et Cher, France. Photo by loire Valley Time Travel.

Swarming bees can sound and look alarming, but they are not really a threat to you. They are concentrating on protecting their queen, and finding a new home. Leave them alone and you will find that they will just peacefully attach themselves to a branch and hang there for some hours in a clump huddled around the queen to keep her warm. Scouts will come and go on their mission to find a new home and report back, but they can be safely ignored by you. Don't delay in calling a beekeeper to relocate the swarm though.

Honey bee swarm, loir et Cher, France. Photo by loire Valley Time Travel.

Honey bee colonies in the Touraine Loire Valley tend to be splitting up and on the move ie swarming from April to June.

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