The organization of bees is complex, leading to different terms for their groups based on behavior, species, and social structure. Unlike animals with a single collective noun, bees use multiple names that describe specific moments or states in their life cycle. Understanding the terminology requires distinguishing between social species, like honeybees, and the majority of bee species that live alone. This distinction is based on whether the insects form a permanent, cooperative unit or a temporary, mobile cluster.
Collective Nouns for Social Bees
The most commonly used term for a large group of social bees, such as European honeybees, is a colony. This term describes the entire biological unit, including the queen, worker bees, and drones, functioning together as a single entity. A colony represents a highly organized society characterized by cooperative brood care and a distinct division of labor.
While people often refer to a “hive of bees,” the word “hive” technically refers to the physical structure or dwelling where the colony resides. The colony is the living group of insects, whereas the hive is the container or nest they inhabit.
Another term for a group of social bees is a swarm, which describes a specific, temporary phase in the colony’s life. Swarming is the natural way a honeybee colony reproduces at the population level. When a colony becomes overcrowded, a portion of the worker bees leaves with the old queen to establish a new home. This departing group forms a dense, mobile cluster while scout bees search for a suitable permanent cavity.
The Functional Difference Between a Swarm and a Colony
The primary difference between a colony and a swarm is their purpose and composition. A colony is a settled, stable unit focused on long-term survival, resource storage, and rearing new generations. Colonies possess a fully constructed nest of wax comb containing stored honey, pollen, and developing young (brood). Because the colony has resources and offspring to protect, the bees are often defensive of their nest site.
A swarm, by contrast, is a temporary, migratory grouping that exists solely to find and establish a new colony location. When clustered, the bees do not possess any comb, stored food, or brood. The lack of these resources means the swarm has nothing to defend, making the bees docile and unlikely to sting unless provoked. Once a new cavity is identified, the swarm moves in and immediately begins building comb, transitioning into a new, developing colony.
Groupings of Non-Social Bee Species
The majority of bee species worldwide are solitary, meaning they do not form social structures like colonies or swarms. Solitary bees, such as mason bees and leafcutter bees, do not have a queen, worker caste, or cooperative brood care. A single female builds and provisions a nest for her own offspring, often in tunnels or holes.
There is no collective noun for these individual nesting females because they lack any social bond. However, multiple solitary bees may build their individual nests in close proximity when suitable habitat is abundant. This phenomenon is referred to as an aggregation.
An aggregation is simply a collection of individual nests situated near one another, such as ground-nesting bees digging tunnels in soil. Crucially, there is no interaction, division of labor, or shared defense among the bees in an aggregation. Each female operates independently, distinguishing this grouping from the cooperative organization found in a social colony.