It is no wonder that the public generally do not know the difference between honeybees and bumblebees.
The photograph accompanying Gina Parkinson’s In The Garden (June 22) which purportedly shows honey bees collecting pollen actually shows a bumblebee on a flower.
As a beekeeper of many years, I have had about 12 calls about a swarm. When asked how many are flying I have been told about 20 or 30. These are of course bumblebees and the callers are advised to leave them,as at about September when the new virgins and drones emerge, the nest will collapse.
If they are honeybees, a swarm will be the size of a football or rugby ball and will have many thousands of bees. They will be very active as they are looking for a new home.
These are the bees that a beekeeper will take and put in a beehive. I should also say that because of the poor summer we had last year and the long cold winter, honey bees are in short supply. Some beekeepers have lost many colonies, some more than 40 per cent, so local honey will be in short supply this year.
Anyone interested in seeing honeybees can visit the Yorkshire Museum of Farming on Sunday, June 30, when York and District Beekeepers will hold a public bee husbandry day in the afternoon.
Tom Robinson, Broadway, York.
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