Ontario Beekeepers that Collect Swarms

Below is a list of beekeepers in the Oxford, Middlesex and Elgin counties in southwestern Ontario who will collect honey bee swarms or do hive removals.

Before you contact them, please read this article on Swarms Explained to be certain what you think might be honey bees are actually honey bees....

There are many types of insects that may look like honey bees that can take up residence in an attic, garage, a backyard barbeque or bird house.  These insects could be wasps, hornets or other kinds of bees.

 Honey bees have gold and brown stripes and are furry. They also build a wax honeycombs that can hang down from a surface.

The combs [pictured above] look like double-sided rounded waffles. Honey bees don't build nests in the ground and are more likely to select a sheltered location such as a hollow tree or attic of a home.

[This honey bee has pollen attached to her back leg].

Wasps, bumble bees and hornets do not make honeycombs.

Their nests are made from various materials such as mud or wood scrapings (paper wasps).

Wasps are not hairy and both hornets and wasps can sting multiple times whereas a honey bee dies when she stings.

One of the most common hornets is the Bald Faced Hornet [pictured at left]. They build paper nests that hang from an object.

Yellow Jacket Wasps are about the same size as honey bees and are common pests at fairs and picnics.

Wasps and hornets are omnivores and will eat both your tuna sandwich and your sugary pop.

Yellow jackets primarily nest in the ground.

In the fall they tend to become more aggressive as food becomes more scarce and they sting more frequently.

Yellow jackets eat both meat and sweets and they can make pests of themselves.

 They are frequently mistaken for honey bees.

They live in paper nests that they make from scraped wood. In the fall all the workers will die and only the queen will hibernate over the winter.

Bumble bees [pictured at left next to a honey bee] are the gentle giant fuzzy bees.

They are very docile and not inclined to sting.

They collect pollen as well and often will nest in the ground/structure.

If you see a honey bee swarm you can call a beekeeper from the list below to come and collect them or you can leave them alone--if they've swarmed they're house hunting and are likely to fly off, but if they're living where you don't want them, please ask a beekeeper to remove them.

For more info see Swarms Explained.

Beekeepers Who Collect Swarms in Southwestern Ontario:

Location	Name	Phone	Email Replace (at) with @
London/Thorndale, Ontario	Purple Hill Apiaries - Scott Clunas	519-461-1858
North & West London & Middlesex Centre	Bob Crowhurst	519-666-1670	robert.crowhurst(at)sympatico.ca
Eden, Ontario	East of Eden Apiary - B & L Vandevyvere	519-866-3690
St. Marys, Ontario	Ray Hagerman	519-284-3612	email: ray(at)hagerman.ca
Oxford for Norwich, Elgin for Sparta	www.crockerhoney.ca - Chris & Don Crocker	•Chris- 519-863-3864 Norwich, ON •Don-519-633-1099 Sparta, ON	email: crockerhoney(at)gmail.com
Burgessville, Ontario	Honey Tree Apiaries - Chris McGyver	519-424-3302	email: honeytreeapiaries(at)hotmail.ca
Burgessville, Ontario	Oxford Honey and Supplies	519-550-1096	email: van3301(at)rogers.com
London/St. Thomas	Huismann Apiaries - Rick	519-636-3485	email: dtech1639(at)xplornet.com
Collection within 35km of London, Ontario	Apiculture Services	519-640-8987	www.robair.ca email: robair(at)sympatico.ca
Denfield, Ilderton, North London	The Saunders Family Farm - Harold Saunders	510-6660705	www.saundersorganics.com email: saunders(at)saundersorganics.com
Kintore, Lakeside, Embro	Susan Fussell	519-283-6026	email: thamesmobile(at)yahoo.ca
London & area	Jack Coughlan and Glenn Davies	519-473-9864 ext 103 519-318-3223 cell	email: Jack(at)smallbusiness.local
Central London down to Lake Erie	Albert and Al Devries	Al Devries 519-765-1957 Albert Devries 519 868 9429	email: devriesfour(at)gmail.com
There are twenty-four Bee Clubs in Ontario that represent beekeepers from all the counties. Often they can refer you to beekeepers who collect swarms in your area. The contact info is on the Ontario Bee Association's website: here. Here's a list of beekeepers in Ontario many who may collect swarms or do hive removals in your area: Source Directory.