Cheshire: Swarm of around 3,000 bees found on shopping trolleys

They had clustered in two trolleys that had been pushed together.

Luckily, beekeeper Matt Gordon from Winwick was in his bee suit in Asda, Warrington, after coming back from a job removing wasps when he was flagged down by someone.

They told him there was a bee swarm in the trolley bay.

So Matt gave his wife Sam a call, who he runs Hive Alchemy with, and asked her to meet him at Dunelm with a small hive called a nuc which the pair use for swarm collections.

According to Sam, the key to a successful swarm collection is to get the Queen, who is usually right in the middle of the cluster, into the nuc as early as possible. This is as the rest of the bees will then follow her pheromones and the majority will then head straight into the box to be with her.

The duo, who have beehives in Winwick, Risley, and Croft, had to fit the nuc into one of the trolleys below the bulk of the swarm where they hoped the Queen would be.

Sam then held the nuc in place while Matt lifted the trolleys at one end. As he let go and the trolleys hit the floor, it made most of the bees drop straight down into the nuc.

Sam said: “We knew the Queen was in there once a number of bees started 'fanning' around the top of the box which wafts a pheromone signal to all the other bees still on the trolley - letting them know where to head to so they can re-join the group.”

The whole process took the couple around an hour-and-a-half and the swarm was taken to Winwick Apiary.

Sam added: “This little colony will now be able to live their best lives in a safe, cosy hive at the Winwick Apiary.”

Sam and Matt have a busy few months ahead of them during swarm season which usually takes place from April to July. They offer to collect swarms free of charge.

To follow their beekeeping adventures, you can follow them on Facebook on Hive Alchemy.