The KBA Swarm Team is a special committee within the Kentuckiana Beekeepers Association (KBA), appointed annually by the KBA president, who assists the general public with honey bee swarm removal requests. The group primarily responds to honey bee swarms in Louisville Kentucky and Southern Indiana, however, some members may respond to established hive removals, other stinging insect removals, and locations that are not covered within this bylaw.
Public Disclaimer: The Kentuckiana Beekeepers Association (KBA) helps connect honey bee related requests with member beekeepers as a volunteer service to the community. The KBA makes no claims to the level of experience or skill that a member beekeeper may have in either swarm rescue or colony removal. It is the responsibility of the person requesting service, and the member beekeeper, to determine what service will be provided. When using this service, please be aware the KBA is void of guarantees, claims, or legal responsibility as an organization.
The objectives are:
To uphold the KBA bylaws
To respond to the general public’s request for free honey bee swarm removals and provide safe, professional and timely assistance.
To rescue honey bee swarms and provide a suitable home.
Modus Operandi
The public finds the KBA Swarm Team contact information through 2 primary pathways:
The public then submits a “swarm call” to the KBA swarm team members through the following pathways:
KBA-Swarm-Call@googlegroups.com A message group that automatically broadcasts an incoming swarm call to all swarm team members.
Https://kyanabees.com/swarm-removal A swarm removal request form on the KBA website. Once submitted the requested is automatically forwarded to google group.
(502) 410-3003 Google Voice: A digitally maintained phone number connected to kentuckianabees@gmail.com. Voicemails are automatically transcribed and forwarded to google groups.
KBA@kyanabees.com or kentuckianabees@gmail.com The primary club email addresses. These do not automatically forward to google groups and the swarm team members. Must be manually forwarded.
Swarm calls are recorded to a google form survey by the member who captured the swarm using the link on the swarm removal page.
A membership list is maintained by the coordinator on the google drive
Swarm Team Coordinator Chair
The KBA president appoints the swarm team coordinator at the beginning of their term each year.
The president can assign themselves, a club officer or club member to be coordinator as long as they meet the membership requirements. The president can remove or replace the coordinator at any time. After removal they can still participate on the team following the 3-strike rule.
The coordinator shall notify the president within 7 days or more, if they are no longer able to serve as the coordinator.
The coordinator oversees and ensures the smooth operation of the swarm team. The coordinator ensures the website, facebook page, google voice phone and google groups email are set up and functioning by March to begin accepting swarm calls. They maintain the following during the swarm season:
Adds members email addresses and phone text emails to google group.
Ensures membership lists are accurate, recorded on the google drive and members membership requirements
Ensures a response if given to each public request within 48hrs. Even if it's just to tell the public we are not able to assist.
Solve problems and disputes.
Ensures all members are operating within the code of conduct. Reports abuse and/ misconduct to officers for disciplinary review
Membership
Current due-paying members of the KBA.
All memberships shall be recorded to a master membership file on the clubs google drive.
At least 2 full seasons of beekeeping experience
New beekeepers are permitted to assist experienced beekeepers, however, new beekeepers cannot respond directly to calls or perform calls alone until 2 years of experience.
New KBA members with more than 2 years of beekeeping experience can participate on the swarm team, however, they may be asked to provide proof of their length of experience such as a witness statement or pictures if the experience level is in question. The president will perform reviews within 7 days of request from the coordinator. Examples may include:
A beekeeper who moved from a different county or state.
A beekeeper who was previously a member of the KBA or who never joined KBA.
Code of Conduct
A copy of this bylaw shall be provided to all members on the website.
Shall conduct themselves professionally as outlined within this code of conduct and the KBA bylaws or be subject to discipline.
Shall review the KBA and Swarm Team Bylaws
Shall review the KBA swarm removal webpage
Shall report misconduct, disputes and problems to the KBA officers
Shall not remove a member(s) from communication and/or emails without first conducting the 3-Strike disciplinary process.
Shall discourage speculation, misinformation and negative communication.
Shall make contact with the swarm call requester via phone, text or email to exchange information before traveling to the swarm location.
The swarm team member shall provide their name, a phone number and a time estimate of their arrival (which must be less than 2 hrs) to the requestor
Members shall provide a disclaimer to the requestor and communicate their plans.
The member shall ask questions to understand if they are capable of conducting the removal. A removal may be too far away, too complicated, too high or too dangerous for them to remove.
If the member determines they are not capable of performing the removal they shall contact the group immediately and relay the information that they discovered.
Shall notify the group immediately after speaking with the public to communicate that they will respond to the call. Once the notification is sent from the person who will remove the swarm, other members should no longer pursue the swarm unless assistance is requested.
Shall not charge or request a fee for swarm collection. Gifts and donations are allowed if offered.
Shall not sell swarms for monetary gain. Swarms may be donated to club members, however this counts towards the collectors 2 swarms per season time response limit. 1 year after a swarm is caught it may be sold.
A member who has collected 2 swarms within a season shall wait at least 1 hr before they respond on all future swarm calls to give other members an opportunity to respond. There is no limit to the quantity of swarms a member can collect, however there is a time limit of how quickly they can respond to swarm calls.
Upon completion of a swarm call the member shall respond to the group informing them the status. The member that responded to the swarm call shall also complete a google form survey found on the KBA website within 72 hrs after.
Shall not share swarm call communication to people who are not a member of the swarm call team. Shall not forward emails, phone calls or public personal information to a non-member.
Shall respond to calls only if you have the ability to be onsite in 2 hrs or less. Shall not respond to a call in the morning if you are not available until after work in the evening
Shall not abandon a call or job. If a member can now longer respond within 2 hrs, or cannot complete the job, they will notify, the group, public and coordinator
Discipline for Member Misconduct (3-Strike Rule)
The disciplinary process for code of conduct violations follow the following 3-strike process. Misconduct complaints are forwarded to the president and vice president for review. The president and vice president will conduct a conference with the involved parties within 7 days or less of a complaint to make a determination. A notice is emailed at least 3 days before the conference with a meeting date/time and description of the complaint. The member is put on hold and not able to participate from the time a complaint is made until the conference occurs. The strike is recorded to the google drive folder with the final determination.
If the member does not reply to the conference request after 3 days then subsequent emails and phone calls are made every 3 days until 14 days have elapsed since the first contact was attempted. A strike is automatically issued without a conference if there is no response in 14 days.
1st Strike. Member is on hold for 1 week
2nd Strike. Member is on hold for 1 month
3rd Strike. Member is on hold for 1 year or until the next season whatever comes first.
6th Strike during a lifetime the person can no longer participate.
Amendments
These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the KBA by a two-thirds majority vote of the members present and voting, provided that a notice is emailed to the KBA members at least 72 hrs prior to the meeting. The KBA president or vice president shall be present for the amendment vote at a regular scheduled club meeting. A completed draft is provided at the meeting and reviewed by all members before voting
Any member in good-standing can propose a revision.
Officers and members shall not prevent or interfere with a member pursuing an amendment.
The KBA president, date and a short description of the amendment shall be recorded within the revision log of the bylaws.
Upon acceptance, these bylaws supersede all previous bylaws.
Bylaws shall be posted to the website for all to view within 7 days of approval.
Revision Log
10/26/2013 - Adopted by KBA - Written by Eric Burns, Amber Dale Cann, Carrie VanWinkle.
3/18/2018 - Revised by Leonard Davis, Marci Early, Betsy Ramey, Lara Augustine, Kristina Turner, Beth Wagner.
9/15/2024 - Revised by President Karen Veleta - Major revision. Added modus operandi section, Fixed formatting inconsistencies throughout the document, Added discipline section, Revised code of conduct, Condensed and combined similar sections for readability.