SWARM OF BEES SEEK HOME
Town abuzz as insects home in on Comrie St
Bees looking for a new home must have thought a Crieff master builder could help.
There was a buzz about Comrie Street last Wednesday when hundreds of honey bees descended on the new office of local contractors Campbell Construction.
Company director Tamara Campbell said she had never seen anything like it when the winged insects swarmed outside the premises before making a temporary home on the wall.
She said: “We were working in the office when we heard lots of buzzing outside and when we looked out the window there were thousands and thousands of bees everywhere.
“People were texting me to tell me as well, as it was visible across the street and to people driving past. We watched them and they formed into two clumps - one on our sign and one below on the wall - and then they joined together on the wall in one large clump. There were still a few buzzing about but a few hours later they had formed into a solid mass.
“We knew a few beekeepers so had phoned around and were told they were doing this because of the weather and that the worker bees would be finding a new home for them and eventually they would move. However, a beekeeper brought a box down and they were collected later that night.”
Tamara added: “I’d never seen anything like that before. We were really shocked and it is scary when you see that many bees. People were walking past screaming!”
And later on the same day Tamara also encountered a second swarm on Perth Road on the way out of Crieff.
Brian Clelland, of Perth and District Beekeepers, told the Herald that people shouldn’t be alarmed if they see a swarm and should contact a local beekeeper.
He explained: “Typically, the end of May through June and into July is the peak time for swarming activity. The bees are at their least dangerous because they are not defending a colony , they are looking for a new place to live. The worker bees will be full of honey - they will not be defending their honey stores in a hive or their larvae - their priority is to find a new place to live.”
Resting places for a swarm can be in the most unusual places and should not be confused with a wasp nest. Swarming bees have little interest in people when in this mode. Their priority is to find a safe place to set up their new colony, so there is little to fear from them. However, you should still act with caution around bees.
Brian added: “If you do know a beekeeper nearby, very often the bee keeper will be able to pick up the swarm.
“The important thing is not just to ignore it because if the swarm is out in the open in a big cluster it is looking for a place to live, and because there are not that many hollow trees around there is always the chance that they will move into somebody’s chimney or roof space where it is very difficult to get rid of them.”