How to Set Up and Conduct a Honey Bee Swarm Biology Demonstration

When a colony swarms, thousands of bees leave their home and set up a temporary bivouac (Figure 1) from which they send out scouts to evaluate potential nest sites. The scouts return to the bivouac and perform a dance that communicates to their nest mates the location of any potential nest site found. The scouts then investigate potential nest sites indicated by other scouts, and upon returning to the bivouac, dance to indicate the better nest site. When all the scouts are dancing the same dance, the swarm becomes airborne and moves to the new nest site. When swarming, bees have neither young nor food to protect, and their defensive instincts are minimal.