Swarm summer day here in Upper Craigs
We couldn’t bee-lieve the buzz around the place
There’s always something going on in Stirling’s Upper Craigs – home of the Observer.
But the street had more of a buzz than usual last Thursday afternoon when between 7000 and 8000 honey bees decided to swarm around shrubbery opposite our office.
Their appearance led to mild consternation and a call for help by Computer Division boss Azam Haider to Stirling and Dunblane Beekeepers Association.
Riding to the rescue came experienced beekeepers Magnus Peterson, from Dunblane, and George Gallacher, of Bridge of Allan, who, using wood smoke, managed to corral most of the swarm in a small wooden box.
However, there was a sting in the tail in that the queen, with whom the bees had swarmed, didn’t make it.
She was found dead nearby although she had been `marked’ indicating she had belonged to an enthusiast’s hive.
As there was no indication of who the other bees belonged to or where they came from, they were taken away to boost one of Mr Gallacher’s hive which had just lost its queen.
Mr Peterson, a retired Strathclyde University statistics lecturer who has eight hives himself, said: “The bees had gathered in a cluster in a low hedge, which is usual behaviour when bees swarm.
“Swarming is part of the productive process whereby they produce a new colony after the queen flies away from an existing hive followed by worker bees. They would have left behind in the hive more bees than are in the swarm plus some developing queens.
“Life would go on in the hive without the swarm, and ultimately you would see the emergence of a new queen – after she had assassinated her sisters (and potential rivals).”
Mr Peterson, who is 81 and has been keeping bees for 40 years, added: “We caught, I would think, more than 90 per cent of the bees. Most of them went into the box as soon as we got there. There were others near the box or on the edge of the box and we were able to encourage them in using smoke.
“The swarm had a queen but we found that she had died, we don’t know how, and so had a queenless swarm.”
Mr Peterson said association members were called out two or three times a year to tackle swarming.
“This is the swarming season,” he added. “The bees want a fine day for it and they also want the bulk of the season ahead of them so they can get established and build up reserves for the winter. When you get swarms, you usually get a few interested spectators but the bees are not inclined to sting.”
Stirling and Dunblane Beekeepers Association membership has been rising in recent years and currently stands at around 200 .
“Beekeeping is becoming increasingly popular as more people become aware of environmental problems and our association is flourishing,” added Mr Peterson.
The association has meetings all year round, including summer apiary (hive) visits and winter lectures by visiting experts.
They also run classes for beginners every year.