North Carolina Bee School Practice Exam

What is an effective way to prevent a bee colony from swarming?

1. Remove Excess Honey

2. Re-queen Every Year and Split Hive Mid-Summer

3. Increase Hive Temperature

4. Reduce Worker population

The correct answer is: Re-queen Every Year and Split Hive Mid-Summer

Re-queening every year and splitting the hive mid-summer is a highly effective strategy for preventing a bee colony from swarming. Swarming is primarily a natural reproduction process that occurs when a colony becomes overcrowded or when there is a lack of space and resources. By re-queening annually, the beekeeper ensures that the colony has a young, vigorous queen who is able to lay eggs effectively. This not only helps in maintaining a strong population but also increases the overall vitality of the colony, which can reduce the urge to swarm. Additionally, splitting the hive during the mid-summer can directly address the issue of overcrowding. When a hive is split, it reduces the bee population in the original colony, which diminishes the pressure that might trigger swarming. This action creates two colonies instead of one, allowing for better management of resources and space. The new hive formed from the split can either continue to grow with a new queen or can be managed separately. In contrast, removing excess honey may help prevent swarming by providing more space in the hive, but it does not address the underlying issues of queen vitality and population density as effectively as re-queening and splitting. Increasing hive temperature is not a recognized method for preventing swarming