Crossword Genius

Many bees fighting, contained by magistrate (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

swarm

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'many' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'bees fighting contained by magistrate' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'fighting' could be 'war' and 'war' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for swarm that I've seen before include "New colonists" , "Mob" , "Hive" , "Move in large numbers like locusts" , "Horde" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app