A BEEKEEPING group has changed the number of its swarm collection helpline.

The Andover & District Bee-keepers Association has changed the contact number of its district swarm helpline.

The new number is 07776 429613.

The helpline can be called to report swarms of bees; the operator on the phone will ask callers a series of questions to determine the sort of bee that is being dealt with.

A beekeeper will then be dispatched to collect and rehome the swarm.

The helpline is free to call, and covers the Andover area, going as far as Salisbury and Romsey.

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Mark Stevens, a member of the association who helps to manage the helpline, estimated that the largest swarm the group had collected contained 50,000 bees; considerably more than a normal swarm which on average contains 25,000-30,000 bees.

Mark also considered some of the strangest places that swarms had been found, such as underneath the bonnet and wheel arch of a car, and inside a post box, saying: “Basically they are looking for crevasses and dark recesses to go to.

“The worst places are lofts and cavities of house walls, because that makes a really difficult job of extracting them, they go down chimneys and all sorts.

“A place like that they really aren’t very helpful, because it’s very hard to get them out.”

However, Mark was quick to point out that honeybee swarms, whilst often scary, are usually harmless.

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“People, obviously, are a little bit concerned when they see this mass of bees.

“But actually, they are at their most docile then, and probably will not sting you.”

The Andover & District Bee-keeper’s Association is a voluntary group made up of roughly 100 members across the Andover area. The group aims to promote the art of beekeeping and to encourage good beekeeping practices in Andover.

The ABKA also offers yearly training courses for those who are interested in taking up bee keeping; these lessons run from December until the end of March and allow perspective beekeepers to have hands on experience at the Cowdown Apiary.

More information about the association and the helpline can be found on its website: http://www.andoverbka.org.uk/cms/index.php.

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