Bee Swarm in Jericho cottage Garden

Great excitement this morning!….. A customer came in saying the garden was full of bees….. Fantastic   you know the old country saying:  ……………………………… A swarm of bees in May ,is worth a rick of hay. A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon, but if they swarm in July let them fly Well this is May and since they were settling on a branch of the Deodora , Peter rode off on his bike to fetch local beekeeper Tony. By the time Peter got back the bees had settled in a triangular shaped clump on a branch about 15 feet high round the queen.            It was a really big swarm .(Tony later estimated about ten thousand)

I called my son Alan,(who luckily was in the area on his way back from doing an estimate for a house removal) to come and help.. he’s an ex beekeeper. We fetched a step ladder, and a long handled pruner and then Tony  arrived complete with  protective clothing and equipment………………………..but   it was not to be………….. either they saw us coming!      or more likely the scouts in the swarm found a more suitable place… ..but they suddenly took off and the air was full of their humming, as they flew off towards the east, several gardens down. We followed but lost them. Hopefully they have found a new safe home. We’ve alerted the neighbours…… meanwhile Tony has left a portable hive near the tree, sprayed with pheromones, which might attract the remaining scouts, and maybe, just maybe bring them back.

Well we can always hope. There were bees under the eves of the cottage when we bought it 18 years ago, they did a fantastic job pollinating my garden…

Perhaps I’ll get Tony to put one of his hives at the bottom of the garden . Id like to be part of the bee conservation project.They are vital to farmers ,nurserymen and gardens. Contact the Essex Beekeepers Association  for more information.  www.ebka.org

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