A swarm of honeybees was wrangled on Byres Road in the West End of Glasgow, with incidents such as these set to become more frequent in the coming weeks across Scotland.
Passersby on the busy street were surprised to find a bee swarm on the bike rack outside Superdrug.
A beekeeper with a bee suit and a smoker safely relocated the insects out of the busy area.
With the weather heating up and bee swarming season in the country now well under way, incidents like these will become more frequent until the end of July.
Why do bees swarm?
Honeybee swarms are a natural phenomenon, occurring on sunny days from May to July, usually between 11am and 4pm, according to The British Beekeepers Association.
When bees swarm they are reproducing or there are too many bees in the hive. The old queen leaves the hive with some of the bees, and they find a place to hang in a cluster until the scout bees find a new home.
Swarms can be dramatic, sometimes with thousands of bees coming together in a large, noisy cloud, however they usually form into a cluster in a few minutes.
Most swarms are not aggressive and should not sting but are best avoided.
What should you do if you come across a bee swarm?
You can use The British Beekeepers Association’s swarm collector map to find a local beekeeper to come and collect the swarm.
They will ask for information regarding the size and location of the swarm and safely collect the bees in a two-part process.
Swarm rescues are becoming increasingly more important as bees are in trouble with 35 UK bee species under threat of extinction.
The rapid decline in bees’ diversity will have serious negative environmental consequences as bees pollinate many of the crops that we and our livestock eat.
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