Bees are important to all of us

Tell us about a swarm

We can help honey bee conservation by moving them to a safe place.

Start with what you can see

What have you found?

Around Yorkshire, not every group of flying insects is a honey bee swarm. Use these quick clues to choose the right next step — and contact BABKA when it looks like honey bees.

If anyone is at risk, keep your distance and call a professional. Never spray, block or disturb an active nest.

BABKA can help with this

Honey bee swarm

Contact the club

A honey bee colony may gather in a dense cluster while it looks for a new home. Swarms can appear on branches, fences, walls or other sheltered spots.

How to recognise it

  • Thousands of amber-brown, slightly furry bees in one dense cluster.
  • Often hanging outside rather than using one small entrance hole.
  • A noisy cloud may settle into a cluster within a short time.

What to do

  • Keep children and pets away; leave the bees alone.
  • Take a photo from a safe distance and note location, height and access.
  • Contact BABKA and tell us how long they have been there.
Tell BABKA about a swarm

Please leave it in place

Bumblebee nest

Bumblebees usually live in a small nest for only a few months. They are valuable pollinators and are generally best left undisturbed.

How to recognise it

  • Fewer, larger and noticeably furry bees.
  • Regular traffic to a small hole in the ground, a compost heap, bird box or eaves.
  • Not a large hanging cluster of thousands of bees.

What to do

  • Give the nest space and avoid noise or vibration nearby.
  • Use a temporary barrier if children or pets need keeping back.
  • Do not block the entrance or ask BABKA to move it.
Bumblebee nest advice

Usually harmless neighbours

Solitary bees

Solitary bees do not live as one large colony. You may see lots of small bees using individual holes in soil, mortar, wood or a bee hotel.

How to recognise it

  • Small bees appearing one at a time around separate holes.
  • Activity concentrated around a wall, bare soil, paving or a bee hotel.
  • No large, shared cluster or papery nest.

What to do

  • Leave the nesting holes open and let them finish their short life cycle.
  • Avoid pesticides and unnecessary disturbance.
  • Use the BBKA guide if you need help telling bees apart.
More bee identification

Use a pest professional if needed

Wasps and European hornets

Wasps are smoother and more brightly marked than honey bees. Their papery nests are often hidden in lofts, sheds, wall cavities or under eaves.

How to recognise it

  • Smooth-bodied insects with a narrow waist and bright yellow markings.
  • A papery nest, often enclosed rather than an open cluster.
  • European hornets are larger, with reddish-brown and yellow markings.

What to do

  • Do not knock, block or spray an active nest yourself.
  • Keep people and pets away from the flight path.
  • For a nest in a risky or high-use place, contact a BPCA pest professional.
Wasp nest advice

Report, do not approach

Yellow-legged (Asian) hornet

This non-native hornet is a serious threat to honey bees. A possible sighting should go through the national reporting route, not to a local beekeeper.

How to recognise it

  • A dark, velvety body with one broad orange-yellow band on the abdomen.
  • Distinctive yellow ends to the legs.
  • Smaller and darker overall than our native European hornet.

What to do

  • Do not approach or disturb a suspected nest.
  • If it is safe, take a photo from a distance and note the location.
  • Report it through the official GOV.UK route or Asian Hornet Watch app.
Report a suspected sighting

Still not sure? The BBKA has a fuller identification guide for bees and other insects.

See the BBKA identification guide

Think it is a honey bee swarm?

Tell us where it is and what you can see.

Please include a photo if you can take one safely, plus the location, height and whether the bees are inside or outside.

Contact BABKA Read BBKA swarm guidance