An Oxfordshire beekeeper has shared what to do if you see a bee swarm, after noticing bees were being killed needlessly.
Kate Newman has been looking after bees with her father, who is 77, since she was five years old.
The 47-year-old is regularly called up after swarms of bees are spotted and wants to highlight bees are no threat.
READ MORE: HUGE swarm of bees spotted on park bench
She said: "I have grown up with bees, I find them fascinating, and when I open up a hive and am concentrating on what I am doing with the hive I find it very calming.
"If I can save one colony that wouldn't have made it through the winter, I feel like I have done what I set out at the beginning of the year"
The bee enthusiast and project manager shared her 'anger' after teenagers were spotted throwing rocks at a swarm spotted in Witney.
When she arrived at a park bench outside St Mary's Church where the swarm had been spotted it was littered with dead bees.
She said: “I feel sorry for the bees because I think to myself, they don’t ask to be killed. When I got there and saw it I just thought it was a complete waste of a bee's of life.
“I know how angry they were. I’ve never been stung before until then."
Bees swarming is a natural process, between April and September, that takes place when a new queen bee is made.
The old queen will leave the colony to find a new home.
She said:"A swarm is something people should not be frightened of, but should be dealt with by a beekeeper.
"Bees in swarms tend to be fairly docile as they have filled up with honey before leaving the original colony.
"But, if children throw rocks and sticks at them then they will become aggressive as they are protecting their colony from attack."
Mrs Newman said that the Witney swarm is doing really well now.
The way she collects the swarms is to scoop up bees from the centre of the swarm, wearing a bee suit, and put them in a special box.
Once the queen is in the box, the other bees tend to walk in and follow her.
She then drives them home, and once they've had a chance to settle in the box she will transfer them to a hive.
As she often ends up with quite a few, she helps out new beekeepers by giving the swarms.
The Brackley based beekeeper has also introduced her husband Dave to the beekeeping process, and they have an Apiary divided between Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
If you spot a swarm of bees report it to Oxfordshire Beekeepers' Association (OBKA) or use the British Beekeepers Association to find local beekeepers near you.
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