A local bee enthusiast is offering to collect swarms of bees and bumblebees free of charge across Melksham and the surrounding area.
Pete Colegate has been collecting bee swarms for around 20 years and says he is available to ‘come to the rescue’ of anyone who needs a helping hand.
“If people give us a call, we can just go out and collect the bee swarms,” explained Pete. “Sometimes it’s an easy process, but sometimes it is not. Recently we were called out to a location where bees swarmed into a summer house, so we had to take part of the outside wall off to get at them. They had been in there for maybe a year and it was full of honeycomb and thousands of bees.
“Once collected, we take them back to one of our several hives, then give them to a beginner who is starting to keep bees. The bees will reproduce and then start again. We never kill anything. We do sell the honey among neighbours if we have any surplus.”
Pete first became interested in keeping bees while living in Ireland. After moving to Melksham, he joined a beekeeping course with Melksham Beekeepers and has continued ever since.
He said that while collecting bees can sometimes be a bit ‘hairy,’ his years of experience help. “You do get stung and you climb ladders and scaffolding, but I haven’t fallen off a ladder yet,” he explained.
Despite a national decline in bee populations, Pete said that bees are currently ‘going bananas’ due to the warm weather.
As well as collecting honeybee swarms, Pete also collects bumblebees. “They usually get into bird nest boxes and you don’t want them there,” said Pete. “For some reason people are frightened of them and so we will go and pick them up.”
“Bees can be dangerous because people can be allergic to the stings. We have had several beginners in recent years who have had to stop keeping bees because they become allergic to the stings. A wasp can carry on stinging, but a bee can only do it once and then they die.”
Pete is willing to travel up to 10 or 20 miles to collect swarms. For assistance, call 07720 610601.
