Swarm alerts and claiming

Who gets alerted, and in what order

Alerts go out in tiers, and the order does not depend on whether you pay. The beekeepers nearest the swarm are alerted first, along with beekeepers who are newer to the platform and haven't yet claimed many swarms. If the swarm is still unclaimed a short time later, everyone else within range is alerted too.

That second part is deliberate. Without it, the same handful of quick, well-placed beekeepers would take nearly everything, and a beekeeper who joined last month would never get a first swarm. Members of partner associations additionally receive the swarms reported through their own association's form.

What you see before you claim

Every alert links straight to the report, and signs you in on the way if you need it. Before claiming you can see a photo, the city, and the size, situation, height and duration of the swarm, plus roughly where it is as a circle you can open on a map and compare against your own area. The exact address and the reporter's contact details are shared only once you claim.

Alerts also tell you how many other beekeepers were notified, so you know whether you are racing a crowd or the only one nearby.

Claiming, and what follows

The first beekeeper to claim takes the swarm, and it immediately shows as unavailable to everyone else. The reporter is told someone is on the way. You contact them directly to arrange the collection, and there is a draft message ready if you would rather not start from a blank screen.

There is a brief delay between an alert arriving and the claim button becoming active, and a short cooldown after each claim before you can take another. Both exist to stop automated claiming and to stop any one beekeeper monopolising a morning's reports.

Recording what happened

When you are done, mark the outcome on your dashboard. This is the single most useful thing you can do for everyone else on the platform, because the local figures beekeepers rely on for trap placement and seasonal timing are built from these answers. If you forget, a reminder arrives a few days later.

• Captured
• Swarm departed before arrival
• Access issues, couldn't reach the swarm
• Unsafe to capture
• Too small or not viable
• Private property, no permission
• Weather conditions
• Reporter never responded
• Not bees, wasps
• Not bees, bumble bees
• Not a swarm, an established colony

If you cannot go after all

Release the claim as soon as you know. It returns the swarm to the pool and re-alerts the beekeepers who were originally notified. Nothing is held against you for releasing a swarm you can't reach, and it is far better than a claim nobody acts on. A reporter can also pass on a beekeeper who hasn't responded, which puts the swarm back the same way.

When it turns out to be wasps

An image check looks at photos on incoming reports and flags likely wasps, and you will see a warning before claiming anything already flagged. If you spot wasps on an available report, you can mark it, and the person who reported it is told plainly that beekeepers don't remove wasps and pointed towards help that fits. You can still claim a flagged report if you think the flag is wrong or you are willing to deal with wasps. Not sure yourself? The identification guide covers the differences.