If you ever see a swarm of honeybees ~ don't panic, don't run ~ just stand there quietly and watch the miracle of how honeybees divide and replicate themselves. When a hive is getting too crowded the honeybees create swarm cells, which actually look like peanuts. The queen lays an egg in the swarm cell and the honeybees start to create a new queen. About 1/2 the honeybees in the hive gorge themselves on honey in preparation for swarming. Scout bees fly out in all directions in search of a new home. All of a sudden the queen and about half the honeybees fly out of the hive and usually land and cluster within a short distance of the hive. Once the scout bees have located their new home the swarm again takes off and the queen and her honeybees create a new hive.
This queen cell was in one of my hives in April 2009 ~ I witnessed the birth of this queen and placed her in a hive that was queen-less. Without a queen, the hive will die off in about 10 weeks. Thanks Gilda for taking the picture :)
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