‘Summertime and the bees are swarming’ is definitely my own version of the Elle Fitzgerald’s, ‘Summertime and the living is easy’.
The recent hot weather will have particularly encouraged swarming and if you are not familiar with bees it can be quite an alarming sight.
The important thing to realise is that honey bees are at their most placid when they are swarming. They have left their hives because it has got over-crowed (a Queen bee can lay 2,000 eggs per day at this time of year so it can quickly become a bit tight if the hives are not managed impeccably.)
Before they leave they gorge on the honey stores for sustenance and that makes them better tempered (think of how you feel after a big meal!) and they are also only intent on finding somewhere new to live, definitely not on causing trouble. The big black cloud of moving bees will quickly settle somewhere convenient – for them, not a beekeeper to collect – and look after the Queen whilst some of the bees go off and look for new accommodation. They can remain in this rugby/football shaped huddle for anything from 10 minutes to a couple of hours but as soon as a new home is found they will all alight and take off en mass again.
I have heard horrendous accounts of people pouring boiling water over a swarm, or spraying them with wasp killer – PLEASE DON’T. Either just leave them alone or call your local bee keeping association, which is Gwent Beekeepers’ Association for the Abergavenny and surrounding areas, and who have fabulous swarm liaison officers who will be able to collect or advice on the swarm.
They do point out that a swarm of honey bees consists of a mass of bees in a cluster the size of a football or rugby ball. If you see only a few insects, they are probably not honey bees – and certainly not a swarm. They may be wasps, bumbles bees, solitary bees or hornets rather than honey bees, which Gwent Beekeepers’ Association are unable to collect or remove.
For North Gwent including Abergavenny, Crickhowell, Grosmont, Blaenavon and Pontypool contact Ken Key on 01873 852512 or email kenkey@btinternet.com
And for South Gwent including Monmouth, Raglan, Usk, Newport, Cwmbran and Valley towns contact Andrew Knapp, 07850 703544, or 01600 860930, or email theknapps@live.co.uk.
If you can’t get hold of one, the other will be happy to advice. But again, please don’t do anything yourself and make sure your friends, family and neighbours know to do the same and have the relevant numbers in their phones. Thank you.
And one of my favourite bee quotes, “It doesn’t matter how busy you are but why you are busy; the bee is praised whilst the mosquito is swatted!”
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