A few weeks ago, on Feb 2nd,  Punxsutawny Phil emerged from his burrow. After emerging, he saw his shadow and predicted 6 more weeks of winter. If it had been overcast, and he had not seen his shadow, he would have predicted an early spring. Well it’s been two weeks since Phil’s prediction which means we need to wait till March 9th until the winter subsides. Groundhogs Day… If only it were that easy to predict the weather!

Not sure how or why Groundhog’s Day became so popular, but we here at Bee Best Bee Removal understand the desire to predict the seasonal pattern. You see for us an early spring means an early swarm season. Although we don’t rely on Punxsutawnty Phil for his prediction, we do take notice of other tell tale signs that, in the past, have predicted the start of the swarm season.

So what are these tell tale signs? And what is a swarm season?

Swarm season is the time of year (usually in early spring) when well-established hives become over populated. Although bees in San Diego can create swarms year round, the majority of the swarms are created in the spring during swarm season. In order to free up space and resources in the hive, the monarch queens leaves the hive with a portion of the colony to form a swarm. This new swarm then looks for a place to build a hive. This practice helps ensure the survival of the species.

So will it be an early swarm season this year? It’s hard to say. We have already predicted that 2015 will be a good year for bees in San Diego.  We hope this prediction comes true. But there is one thing that always lets us know that swarm season is around the corner. The yellow and purple freeway flowers!

Okay so it’s not scientifically proven or anything, but the freeway wildflowers have been a great indicator in the past that the bee season is only a few weeks away. These wildflowers are just now starting to bloom. Take a look at this video clip.


Its a video we took just the other day. It shows a bee pollinating the little yellow wildflowers on the side of the road next to our office.

So hear ye, hear ye, hear ye….

when the little yellow flowers of the road do bloom,

take care, and be aware,

that swarm season shall arrive soon.