ONE Barnard Castle resident arrived home from work to find several thousand new occupants in her street.
Karen Ann Akers, of Fairfield Road, called in a beekeeper last Tuesday after making the discovery.
She said: “When I got home from work at about 5pm there was this swarm of bees in my neighbour’s garden – there were thousands of them.”
She added: “It was an amazing sight -“I was a bit anxious but thought I would get close and take some pictures. When the beekeeper arrived to rehome them, she told me they can be quite nasty.”
Mrs Akers said the beekeper told her that the honey bees probably swarmed from an existing hive. Mrs Akers said: “They were there the previous day but flew off in the morning.
“I have been told the scouts would be out and about looking for a new abode and the best time to collect bees is in the evening when all the forages and scout bees have returned to the swarm.”
The bees have now been safely rehomed. Environmentalists say the loss of natural habitat, a lack of forage from declining wild flower meadows and a toxic cocktail of pesticides are all challenges faced by the UK’s bees.
