It’s a warm spring or summer day and you’re walking outside when you see it, maybe hanging off a tree branch or gathered on a fencepost: a huge swarm of honeybees.

For those unfamiliar with the ways of bees, swarms can seem frightening and unpredictable. It’s not uncommon for a single swarm to contain anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred individual bees, and the size can often frighten homeowners into taking drastic action - often to the detriment of the hive itself.