For New South Wales beekeepers
The New South Wales Swarm List
216 honey bee swarms have been reported across 5 New South Wales cities this season, and about 62 of them were never claimed by a beekeeper. Swarmed texts or emails you the moment one is reported near your apiary, free, with no membership and no waiting list.
Where the swarms are, by county
Ordered by what was reported this season. The last column is the number we estimate no beekeeper collected.
| County | This season | Unclaimed |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney Inner City County | 117 | 26 |
| Wollongong County | 33 | 9 |
| Newcastle County | 26 | 6 |
| Maitland County | 21 | 8 |
| Gosford County | 19 | 6 |
What New South Wales beekeepers left on the table
Retail nucs ran $185 to $325 across the suppliers we checked. At the bottom of that range, the 62 unclaimed New South Wales swarms this season come to roughly $11,470 of bees nobody picked up.
The comparison isn’t exact: a swarm arrives without drawn comb, without a laying-proven queen, and it can abscond in the first week. Most beekeepers who work swarms treat two caught colonies as worth about one bought nuc, which still puts the New South Wales figure in the thousands.
How fast you need to be in New South Wales
A reported swarm in New South Wales is typically claimed within 13 minutes. That’s faster than any mailing list or monthly meeting can move, and it’s why a county swarm list stops working once more than a few people are on it. Alerts reach your phone as the report lands, so the question is whether you’re free that afternoon, not whether you heard in time.
When New South Wales swarms
Across the 5 counties we track in New South Wales, reports peak in October, and alert volume follows the same curve: the weeks either side of that peak are when most of a season’s swarm calls arrive at once. This year is running 10% warmer than the same date last year by accumulated growing degree days, so expect the season to start earlier than it did.
Replacing winter losses in New South Wales
US beekeepers lost 30.3% of their colonies over the 2025-26 winter, and replacements get ordered in January and February for an April pickup. That is the same window in which New South Wales produced 62 reported swarms that no beekeeper collected.
A nuc ordered in February arrives as a known quantity on a known date, and it’s the right call if you need the colony working a specific crop. A caught swarm costs nothing, arrives on its own schedule around October, and comes with the forager population a package doesn’t have. Most beekeepers rebuilding after a bad winter end up doing both.
Compare nucs, packages and caught swarms on cost and timing.
Everyone in range gets the same report at once
A county swarm list
- A page of names and phone numbers, ordered by whoever is top
- Goes stale between annual updates
- Usually needs association membership and a meeting
- A homeowner who reaches two people who can’t go calls an exterminator third
Swarmed
- Every nearby beekeeper gets the same report at the same moment
- Text, WhatsApp or email, with location and photos attached
- First to claim it gets it, no queue position
- No membership, and you set the radius you’ll drive
Common questions
- How do I get on a swarm list in New South Wales?
- Most New South Wales swarm lists are run by county beekeeping associations or the state apiary office, and getting on one usually means joining the association first. With Swarmed you sign up, set the area you're willing to drive to, and every swarm reported inside it comes straight to you. There's no membership requirement and no waiting for the list to be updated.
- Does it cost anything to receive New South Wales swarm alerts?
- No. Alerts are free for beekeepers. Swarmed is supported by contributions from beekeepers who choose to pay what they think it's worth, not by charging for access to swarms.
- Can I replace winter losses with caught swarms in New South Wales?
- Yes for rebuilding numbers, no for a colony a specific crop depends on. US beekeepers lost 30.3% of their colonies over the 2025-26 winter, and replacements are usually ordered in January and February for an April pickup, while swarms arrive later and on their own schedule, peaking in October. In New South Wales roughly 62 reported swarms went uncollected this season, so the supply is there for anyone set up to respond quickly.
- When is swarm season in New South Wales?
- Reports across the 5 New South Wales counties we track peak in October. Alert volume follows the same curve, so the weeks either side of that peak are when most of a season's swarm calls arrive.
- How quickly do I need to respond to a swarm call?
- In New South Wales a reported swarm is typically claimed within 13 minutes. Alerts arrive the moment the report is submitted, so you find out at the same time as every other beekeeper in range.
- Is catching a swarm a real alternative to buying a nuc?
- Roughly two for one. A caught swarm costs nothing and comes with local genetics, but it arrives without drawn comb or a laying-proven queen and can abscond in the first week, so beekeepers who work swarms tend to treat two caught colonies as worth about one purchased nuc. They also don't need ordering in winter for a pickup date months later.