Honeybees swarming. Honeybees (Apis mellifera) swarming around a skep. A skep is a basket woven from straw used by beekeepers to collect honeybee swarms. Swarming is the method by which honeybee colonies divide, resulting in the creation of an additional colony or colonies. The process is initiated by the queen bee, who leaves the hive and is followed by a large number of worker bees. Virgin queen bees in the old colony compete to become the new queen, while the old queen may control the new colony for a few weeks until she is replaced by a new queen. Once collected in the skep, the bees will be placed in a new hive. Photographed in July.