Middle class urban beekeepers blamed for town centre swarms
This article tells of the dangers of unalloyed enthusiasm for keeping bees. I still chuckle at Harry Hill saying he kept bumble bees not for the honey but for the fur. In a more serious twist however some communities have been really threatened by the eclectic habits of our stripy friends.
According to experts, novice middle-class beekeepers could also be causing a spate of swarms in towns and cities. In recent weeks shoppers and motorists across the south of England have been plagued by swarms descending on high streets and parked cars. On Monday a swarm arrived on the high street in Marlborough, Wilts, settling on a parked car and almost covering it. On the same morning police in Chichester put up a cordon to protect the public from bees that had settled on a branch in the middle of the town. And over the weekend a car in Maidstone became a resting point for a swarm. Around 10,000 bees also arrived in Salisbury, settled on railings outside an Italian restaurant, and had to be removed by a local beekeeper.