If Lisa Romero can offer some advice about bees, it’s this:
“If you see a swarm of bees, take a breath, be calm, go to the Sacramento Area Beekeepers website and report it,” Romero says. “Someone will come out and get it. Don’t spray them with water or pesticides, don’t bother them. You don’t have to hide inside. Just call a beekeeper.”
Spring is swarming season for honeybees, which means Sac Area Beekeepers get many calls and online reports of swarms this time of year.
Romero, the group’s vice president, says honeybees swarm when the hive gets too crowded. The queen leaves with half the colony to find a new home.
A swarm of thousands of bees—ranging in size from softball to basketball—will settle in a tree, fence or side of a house and hang out while scouts find a new place to live. Once the colony agrees on a new location through a series of dances, the swarm moves into its new location.
“Providing local residents with information about the swarming process and contact information for swarm collectors is a public service,” says Leslie Navarra, Sac Area Beekeepers president.
That’s where Romero comes in. With a background in public school teaching and administration, plus a doctorate in educational leadership and a professorship at Sac State, Romero handles education for Sac Area Beekeepers. The nonprofit hosts monthly meetings open to the public.
“We’ve had Larry Huttaball, who’s been keeping bees since 1949,” Romero says. “We’ll have Randy Oliver, a famous commercial beekeeper and researcher. We’ve had scientists come in to talk about bee cognition, pollinator-friendly gardens—all kinds of things.”
Sac Area Beekeepers has more than 100 members, from hobbyists to commercial beekeepers. Members volunteer as speakers for schools, youth groups and service clubs. They staff tables with demonstration hives, literature and honey sales at public events. The goal is to teach the importance of honeybees, correct misunderstandings and serve as resources.
Most important for homeowners, the group collects swarms.
“When we come out to collect a swarm, we’ll offer them a frame of wax in a box,” says Romero, who manages four hives on her property in Arden Park. “The bees are looking for a home, so they say ‘great!’ and move right in. Once you get the queen in, all the others follow. Then you can pour them into an open hive. But we always take (the box) after dark so we don’t leave the scouts behind.”
Romero adds honeybees are not natural aggressors and are docile when swarming thanks to gorging themselves on honey before taking flight.
Honey feeds the bees while they house hunt and helps feed local residents. Last month, Sac Area Beekeepers hosted a bottling party and donated excess honey to three food banks. Members often give away or sell the honey produced by their hives. Romero’s bees produced 400 pounds of honey last year.
For information, visit sacbeekeepers.org.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
