Er, actually, I think I'll just walk: Lady cyclist gets a swarm of bees in her basket

By Emily Allen


Forget Easy Rider - these bee-sy riders brought a village to a standstill when they swarmed all over a bike leaving one cyclist without any way to get home.

The excited insects turned the bicycle basket into a buzzing bomb the size of a football outside the Co-op in March, Cambridgeshire, yesterday.

Shocked shoppers gathered to watch the amazing phenomenon in the lunchtime sunshine as the humming bees clung to the cycle.

Buzz off: Thousands of excited insects turned the bicycle basket into a buzzing bomb the size of a football in March, Cambridgeshire causing a stir in the local community

Worried Carol Key, manager of nearby menswear shop Dobsons, said her bicycle was alongside the buzzing bike.

She said the bees had taken over a tree just yards away last week.
Ms Key said: 'It was not too bad when they were in the tree.


A pensioner looks at the buzzing bees from a safe distance. Worried Carol Key, manager of nearby menswear shop Dobsons, said her bicycle was alongside the buzzing bike

Up close: The bees swarm around the bike basket. Malcolm Jackson, a volunteer at an RSPCA shop, alerted police and was put in touch with beekeeper Edward Turner

'But now I've called Fenland District Council and was given some numbers of beekeepers.

'I was concerned that the cycle owner might come along and not notice the bees and get hurt.'

Malcolm Jackson, a volunteer at an RSPCA shop, alerted police and was put in touch with beekeeper Edward Turner.

Mr Turner, of Doddington, immediately went to collect the bees and taken them to his own apiary.

Mr Jackson said: 'I was very concerned about children going near the swarm after school.

'If they had had sweets with them the bees might well have been attracted to the youngsters.'

Help: A beekeeper arrived to remove the bees and took them to his own apiary before anyone was stung

Honey bees are not typically aggressive and won’t sting under most circumstances.

When they are swarming they have little interest in people as their priority is to set up their new colony.

Swarming is the natural way that a colony of honeybees reproduces and happens when a new Queen has been formed and is almost ready to emerge from her cell.

Unlike humans the parent Queen and flying bees leave their home rather than waiting for the offsping to leave and set up independently.

In preparation honey bees gorge on honey prior to their journey in search of a suitable nesting site. When they are ready to go the bees leave the hive and can appear as a cloud in the air.


source:dailymail