A swarm of bees is a large ball, or cloud of bees.  It has a queen.  It has left its old hive and is looking for a new home.  Swarming is how honeybee colonies reproduce themselves in the wild.  It is their natural method of spreading, and increasing.  Swarming usually happens:

1. in the morning                                     
2. when the weather is fine
3. when there are lots of flowers in bloom and the honey flow is heavy
4. when the colony is strong and the hive is crowded.

The season for swarming is a bit different from one province to another in the Solomon Islands.  It seems to happen mainly, during the months of October to February.  Swarming usually happens in the morning.  Sometimes it happens after a period of heavy rain, or in the dry season when the weather is warm and calm. Some beekeepers think that swarming is a sign of good management. They think this because it is usually strong, healthy colonies that swarm.

A colony begins to prepare for swarming by raising many drone bees. This might be the first sign that the swarm season is approaching.  The workers then begin to build queen cups (beginning queen cells) along the bottom of the brood frames. Once the queen has laid eggs in these cups the workers start to lengthen the cups into cells. The workers then fill them with royal jelly.

The swarming process has begun. These cells are then called ripe swarm cells.  If you see ripe swarm cells, your hive is probably only a week away from swarming.  The queen will then stop laying eggs.  Her body will get smaller so she will be able to fly away.  The workers will stop going to the field. They may gather together in a bunch at the hive entrance.  They will fill their honey sacs with honey.  They do this so they will have supplies for the journey.  They will need the honey to have energy to make wax to start their new colony.

After the swarm cells have been capped, but before the young queens emerge, the old queen and maybe half of the worker bees will fly out of the hive.  This usually looks like a cloud of bees.  They will gather in a ball or bunch. They will usually hang from the branch of a nearby tree.  The swarm will stay for a few hours or maybe one day. During this time scout bees look for a new home.  This is the time when a swarm can be easily caught and put into a hive box.  Once the scout bees have returned and the swarm has decided where it is going, it will fly off and be impossible to catch.  Once the bees move into their new home, they immediately begin to build wax comb.  The old  queen will start to lay eggs again.

The old hive is left with a small population of bees. These will not make much honey.  A new queen will emerge.  She will go on a mating flight.  She will begin to lay eggs after about two weeks.  The hive will survive, but the beekeeper has lost half of the worker bees.  The hive will not make much honey for a while.