By What do you do if you see a swarm of bees?
As restrictions are eased and the UK population begins to venture outside, many brits are coming across large swarms of bees. The UK swarming season is from April to July, but the peak is from early May to June.
It is important to understand that swarms are not dangerous if left alone.
Unfortunately, habitat loss and fragmentation combined with climate change are having huge impacts on bee populations globally. With that in mind, it’s essential that swarms of bees are left alone and not harmed in any way.
If you do see a swarm of bees, contact your local beekeeper’s association.
Most associations do not charge for this service, and their skills enable them to remove the swarm without causing any harm to the colony. In Oxfordshire, community members who are concerned about swarms should contact the Oxford Beekeeeper’s Association.
Once you contact the Association, a beekeeper will be sent out to collect the swarm and relocate the bees to a hive that they manage.
One such beekeeper is Julie Macken, Deputy Queen Bee at Oxfordshire’s Neve’s Bees.
After moving to Oxfordshire in 2011, Neve, Julie’s then 9-year old daughter, decided she wanted to keep bees and asked her grandad to buy her a beehive for her birthday. Julie and her family have since grown that single hive into a thriving apiary and (thanks to her 20-year career in pharmaceutical marketing) have created the natural skincare company, Neve’s Bees, which harnesses the power of their bees to create lip balms, hand salves, cuticle butter, pet products and a range of other natural skincare products.
Interestingly, Julie explains that 75% of swarms die due to the fact their natural habitats are so badly damaged by urbanisation. Thankfully, a beekeeper’s main role is to keep happy and healthy colonies, so people like Julie are essential to helping maintain bee population numbers across the UK.
In addition Neve’s Bees donates 5p for every sale to BBOWT (our local Berks, Bucks, Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust) to help save our beautiful countryside and the wildlife it supports.
As well as supporting local beekeepers and their companies, you the WWF outlines four other ways you can become more “bee friendly.”
- Grow a bee friendly garden including lots of flowers! In support with the WWF’s advice, Neve’s Bees is currently offering free wildflower seeds with every purchase over £10.
- If you see a tired bee, mix two teaspoons of white granulated sugar with one teaspoon of water and leave it on a plate for them to re-charge with.
- Get to know your bees – with over 250 species, there’s a lot to learn.
- Only buy sustainable honey and beeswax and, if possible, buy from your local beekeeper.
Gi Media would like to offer 3 lucky readers the chance to sample Neve’s Bees products (check them out here). Stay tuned to our Facebook page for an exciting competition which will launch this Friday, 19 June 2020.
Contact Gi Oxford
Email us: news@gi-media.co.uk
Follows us on Facebook for all the latest local stories, breaking news and to join the conversation
