What's buzzing! What you need to know during honey bee swarm season

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's that time of year -- spring!

Daylight saving time has started, which means more daylight, flowers and plants blooming and you're seeing honey bees, lots of them buzzing around your flowers, trees and garden.

And, honey bee swarms, which you'll find mostly attached to trees branches, tree trunks and other surfaces.

On Wednesday, the Wake County Sheriff's Office posted a video of a swarm outside their office to warn people in the area. They also taped off the area as a precaution until the bees were collected, the post said.

Here's what you should know about honey bees and bee swarms should you encounter one.

ABC11 spoke with a beekeeper in Cumberland County, who said they're getting at least one call a day to remove bee swarms. Whitaker Grannis said he's been a beekeeper for about 11 years. He's also the co-president of the Cumberland County Beekeepers Association (CCBA).

He said people will see more and more swarms as the weather remains warmer and flowers and plants bloom. The swarms started earlier this year because February was such a warm month. Grannis said the colder weather in March did slow them down, however, because of all the blooms that had already started, it was not a major slowdown.

Grannis shared recent pictures of swarms they've been called to remove. He said depending on the location and size of the swarm it can take time to successfully remove swarms. More than anything, he said people should not spray bee swarms with water or pesticides in an attempt to get rid of them or kill them.

"Swarming honey bees are docile and unlikely to attack."

Grannis said the CCBA works closely with beekeepers in other counties who can help collect the swarms and properly and safely relocate them.

Honey bees swarm form when their population increases rapidly and conditions inside the hive become too crowded. The queen will leave the hive with about half of the worker bees and some male drones to look for a new place to build a hive. A new queen is made in the old hive and the group of bees that has left the hive is called a swarm, according to Justin Burkhead with Halifax County Center.

A typical honey bee swarm consists of between 10,000 and 40,000 bees, Burkhead says. You can find swarms near the old hive on a tree, fence post, or another surface.

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1. Honey bees live in hives and each bee has a job

2. A hive has only one queen bee. Her job is to lay eggs

3. All worker bees are female. Male honeybees are called drones

4. Honeybee swarms are most likely to happen in the spring and early summer

5. Bees can only sting once. If a person is stung, the honey bee's stinger remains in the bee or person stung and the insect then dies

A swarm of honey bees caused quite the buzz outside the Wake County Sheriff's Office, the agency said on Facebook. They taped off the sidewalk around the swarm while the bees were collected.