Sheffield man leaves work to find car swarmed with bees

It took four hours to remove the bees from the Volkswagen. Credit: Alex Kelsey

A pub worker was left unable to drive home from after his shift after he found his car covered in bees.

Alex Kelsey left work at a pub in Sheffield on Sunday to get into his car, parked on Peel Street in Broomhill, only to discover the driver's door swarming with hundreds of honey bees.

He told ITV News that he was "confused about what to do".

Alex called the British Beekeepers Association who came to the rescue and removed the bees from the Volkswagen.

After four hours, Alex was able to drive away from work safely and bee-free.

He added: "It happened because the queen bee left her previous hive and went to locate a new one, but got tired on the way and landed on the nearest thing - which was my car."

Credit: Alex Kelsey

Why do bees swarm?

Honey Bee Swarms:

According to the British Beekeepers Association, swarming is a natural process in which the colony reproduces as the old queen leaves with some of the bees.

They leave their hive and find somewhere to hang in a cluster until the scout bees decide on their new home.

Most swarms occur on warm sunny days from May to the end of July, usually between 11am and 4pm.

There is often a peak on a fine day after poor weather when temperatures approach the high teens.

A real honey bee swarm can be extremely dramatic, involving many thousands of bees in a large, noisy cloud. However, they normally settle into a cluster within 15 minutes.


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