Swarm calls surge as beekeepers field nearly 400 reports in early summer

A hotline for rescuing swarming honeybees has already received nearly 400 calls this year, matching the total for all of last summer, Yle reports.

Unseasonably warm spring weather followed by a cold snap in May triggered increased swarming, according to Rami Heikkilä, chair of the Finnish Beekeepers’ Association. Swarming is a natural reproductive behaviour where an old queen leaves the hive with part of the colony to establish a new nest.

The association’s swarm hotline operates daily from 8 am to 8 pm from late May to early August, staffed by volunteer beekeepers who dispatch local experts via a WhatsApp network. Callers are first asked to confirm the swarm is honeybees—typically the size of a football—and not wild insects.

Heikkilä noted growing public appreciation for both bees and beekeepers. The government recently raised the national per-hive subsidy from €25 to €28, a move he called significant amid rising costs and stagnant honey prices. Beekeeping, he added, is vital to Finland’s food security, as pollination boosts crop yields far beyond the value of honey produced.