As the weather warms the activity of bees is expected to increase

During spring and early summer bees will throw out swarms to reproduce and protect the colony. 

Swarms lessen the stress on a hive said beekeeper Belinda Foley. 

Usually a hive will relocate with the old queen, and her loyal subjects, after the production of a new queen, said Mrs Foley.

They look like a big, buzzing beard hanging out of a tree, and can contain thousands of bees.

Although they are not particularly harmful or aggressive, the bees would have been gorging on honey and it makes them docile, she said.

"Every bee colony is different." 

Scouts will be out searching for a new home, and if the hive is disturbed they could sting, she warned.

"It is best to call a beekeeper to take it away."

Swarms could establish a hive in a cavity of a house or a tree making it difficult to remove.

To remove a swarm a box is placed under the location and shaken, if the queen falls into the box the rest will usually follow, she said. 

It could take up to two days. 

Sometimes pine needles can be burned to smoke out the bees, which doesn’t hurt them, she added.

Mrs Foley doesn’t use chemicals to remove a swarm.

For the past seven years, Mrs Foley has been guided by seasoned beekeeper Jo Lewis, in his late ‘70s, and a beekeeper since he was a teenager. 

Bees have been bred for thousands of years and hives need to be maintained, and registered with the Department of Agriculture to ensure a known location if there is a disease outbreak, said Mrs Foley. 

"The ones in the wild only survive by throwing out swarms all the time."