A BEEKEEPER has warned people to be on the lookout for bees as they enter peak swarming season.

Derek Cartwright has been called out several times over the last few days to tackle swarms - which can consist of tens of thousands of bees.

Swarming is a honey bee colony’s natural means of reproduction. In the process of swarming, a single colony splits into two or more distinct colonies.

With the hotter weather, more and more bees are becoming active all around the town.

And in one recent incident last weekend, the bees caused much amusement due to their choice of rest - a no parking or stopping sign.

The bees had swarmed on the fence near the old Horwich Loco Works, and were reported to Derek by a concerned local business.

He said: “The swarms are nature’s way of creating two colonies out of one.

"If they are big enough and strong enough, they split in to two, with one half following the old queen.

“When bees swarm, they aren’t there for long and scouts will go off and find a new place to live.

"They get working quickly and don’t sit around.

“I thought it was quite amusing as the place where they did decided to stop for a while was on the sign.”

Derek was able to lure the bees into a container, where they gathered over a period of several hours.

He later collected the container and added them to his apiary in Horwich, where he produces and sells his own honey.

He estimates that he has hundreds of thousands of bees across more than a dozen hives.

He added: “The bees are doing well and I’m looking forward to a summer of making honey - the weather has been lovely recently so it’s been nice to see them moving about more.

“Someone said the ones I found on the sign should get a £100 fine from the council sent to them - that did make me laugh.”