WATCH: You're pollen my leg! Bees back in town day after removal

Tuesday 20 June 2023

Beekeepers had to be called out this morning to deal with a swarm that had taken up residence outside a shoe shop – just 24 hours after they had attempted to move an estimated 20,000 bees from a scaffolding site down the road.

Despite attempts to remove the swarm from the former Topshop premises yesterday, a number of the bees relocated to a new spot outside Clarks and members of the Jersey Beekeeping Association had to be called out to town for a second time.

John Deans, a Swarm Coordinator for the Jersey Beekeepers Association, explained that the process to remove a swarm of bees can take a while as beekeepers have to ensure that the swarm is moved in its entirety.

He explained that when the a beekeeper is called out to deal with a swarm, they move the bees in the area into a temporary home called a 'skep', which is a similar to a straw basket or box.

Pictured: A member of the Jersey Beekeepers Association dealing with the bees outside Clarks shoe shop this morning.

However, many of the bees will be out collecting pollen during the day and therefore the skep cannot be immediately removed or they will have nowhere to come back to. 

The skep must be left in its current location until nighttime, when all of the bees have safety returned, to allow the swarm to be moved to its new home in its entirety.

However, sometimes bees will decide that they do not like the skep and attempt to find a new home themselves, which is what Mr Deans suggested happened last night, with the bees relocating from the King Street scaffolding and attempting to make a new home outside Clarks shoe shop.

However, a member of the Jersey Beekeepers Association returned today to attempt to remove the bees again.

Video: The swarm of bees spotted on a scaffolding opposite Voisins yesterday afternoon.

Mr Deans said that the Association removes about 30 to 40 swarms of bees each year, although admitted that this is a more common occurrence in the countryside than in town.

However, he said that members of the Jersey Beekeepers Association – which is a voluntary organisation – were also called out to remove a swarm from the old Mayfair site last Sunday.

Mr Deans advised that anyone who encounters a bee swarm should contact the Jersey Beekeepers Association immediately and refrain from spraying the swarm with insecticide or water as "it is important to preserve bees".