On the 1st of June I was walking along Brantingham Road where it meets Manchester Road in Chorlton, at about 5pm. I saw a young man pointing his phone into a tree. I assumed he was just a fan of elder-flowers until I got nearer. I could then see a few insects orbiting around a clump on a branch of the elder tree. The young man said he had called a bee-herd.
More pictures after the break.
It was a very hot day so I did not run home but just meandered slowly home and got my camera. By the time I returned the bee-herd had arrived and was setting up to box the swarm and take it to a new home. I had a brief, pleasant chat with the bee-herd.
Unfortunately it was a very bright, sunny day and the swarm was about 8 feet (2.5 metres) off the ground in the tree. So the photos did not turn out very well. I forgot my camera can do video. It would have been nice to capture the bees flapping their wings to cool the swarm down.
According to the Three Bees Co-op a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon. Strangely, they will charge a small fee for removal, even in June. There are other bee-swarm collectors on the Beeswarms list and the British Beekeepers Association list that seem to be free of charge. Around Knutsford (look under Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire for Manchester) you might even get a free jar of honey as a finder's fee.
UPDATED 03/10/2018
An old work colleague and friend brought me a copy today of the Open Up Chorlton magazine from May-June. There was an article on page 8 (no way to directly link but go to Back Issues) about a beekeeper who lives on Albany Road. It turns out this was the beekeeper who collected the swarm above. His name is Alan Lee and his day job is with the Manchester City Council Bereavement Services. I wonder if he tells the bees about all those deaths? If you have a swarm in Chorlton or nearby that needs collecting his number is 07804 826942.
