Bees in his bonnet: Swarm set up home on car as man pops into shop

One motorist literally had bees in his bonnet when a swarm set up home on his car in Ardmore, Co Waterford.

Gerry O’Mahoney had parked briefly to buy an ice cream at the village’s Beachcomber shop on the village’s main street. He emerged to find a swarm of bees had attached themselves to his Opel Zafira.

The bees opted to settle just above the front-left tyre.

A local beekeeper, Jim Moloney, arrived within 20 minutes and identified the bees as Apis mellifera, sometimes known in this country as Black Irish bees, due to their predominantly red/brown colouring, with black legs.

Jim gently used a small handbrush to usher half the estimated 10,000-strong swarm into a cardboard box, which he then upturned onto a panel of wood. A narrow gap between the box and the wood enabled the bees to crawl under.

At one stage, a second swarm arrived, doubling the numbers as they rallied to the cause.

Jim pointed out that worker bees at the entrance were fanning with their wings to keep the heat off the queen who, like any aspiring leader, was probably miffed at being put back in her box when all she wanted was to create a fresh buzz about the place.

Eventually, Jim wrapped the entourage in a white sheet and took them home.