Warm weather 'leading to more bee-swarm activity'

The warm spring weather could lead to an increase in bee swarms, according to a Bristol beekeeper.

Two swarms were spotted on the Tobacco Factory in Bristol earlier this week after hives on the venue's roof swarmed.

The warm April weather has encouraged trees to blossom earlier than usual and beekeepers say this may be responsible for increased swarm activity.

"It means that there is a lot of food out there to forage and this year is one of the strongest swarm years I've ever seen," said Tim Myers, facilities and projects manager at the Tobacco Factory.

"I've gone from four to eight occupied hives because my hives have swarmed so much," said Mr Myers.

He added swarming was a sign of a healthy beehive and was essentially a method of reproduction.

"The workers are the ones that make the decisions that the hive is strong enough to be split in two, and they will take the old queen to make a new hive whilst the remaining workers in the old hive raise a new queen," he said.

Both the swarms on Sunday and Monday are thought to have come from one of the eight hives on the roof of the Tobacco Factory that produce honey that is sold in the shop downstairs.

Swarms are contained when the queen from the breakaway swarm is captured and placed in a temporary hive. The other bees will then follow the queen's scent and enter the new hive - after which they can be safely removed.

Both swarms from the Tobacco Factory were safely rehomed.

Each swarm can contain tens of thousands of individual honey bees and can appear chaotic.

Despite the appearance, honey bees that are swarming are actually much less dangerous than when they are living in a hive, Mr Myers explained.

"It's dramatic but when they're swarming they have no hive to defend and have no interest in keeping anyone away," he said.

Mr Myers regularly gets called to deal with swarms in the city and says he is "not concerned about any danger to the public because they are no threat".

The British Beekeepers Association says swarming bees do not normally sting but advises people to stay away and to keep children and pets indoors.

They also say that swarms are most common on sunny days between the months of May and July.

If someone encounters a bee swarm they should get in touch with their local beekeeping association, which will be able to remove it.