The sight is one that beekeepers say is understandably intimidating to the ordinary person out for a walk: a sliver of sky suddenly darkening amid the collective roar of thousands of honeybees before they cluster on branches or bushes.
In Britain, the behavior, known as swarming, typically takes place from May to July and is a natural process in which a honeybee colony splits in half and leaves with a queen bee in search of a new home.
But the country is currently experiencing a greater numbers of sightings for this time of year, most likely thanks to unseasonably warm weather that followed a cold, wet spell.
As a result, beekeepers and pest-control workers who catch the swarms are reporting a surge in calls for their help as members of the public spot the clusters in backyards, in chimneys and even on barriers along city streets.
“We’re fully booked for the next four weeks,” said Rob Davies, a pest controller in Shropshire, in central England, who specializes in dismantling and rebuilding structures like chimneys to rescue honeybees, adding that he was getting “ridiculous” volumes of people calling for assistance.
Persons:
We’re, ”, Rob Davies
Locations:
Britain, backyards, Shropshire, England