Brits warned about bee invasion as forecasters tip 40C temperatures

Huge swarms of bees are invading the country as a 40C heatwave looks likely to take hold.

Several factors, including the glorious weather, have formed a "sweet spot" for a particularly "swarmy season" this year.

It comes amid predictions that a "heat dome" is on the horizon for Brits this summer as an El Nino weather wave promises steamy heatwave temperatures of up to 40C in just a few weeks.

READ MORE: Britain set to roast with record-smashing 5 heatwaves that could beat last year’s 40.3C

According to the Daily Mirror, the UK is increasingly likely to enter another period of hot conditions in July and August, with temperatures rivalling a very warm June, prompting mass invasions of thousands of the buzzing insects.

These have included a swarm around a castle in Cornwall, while a bar and restaurant in Glasgow was forced to shut due to a mass invasion.

Experts say swarms of 5,000 bugs are leaving to form new colonies due to overcrowding, hot conditions in hives and ageing Queen bees.

Tim Vivian, a member of the British Beekeepers' Association, explained: "It is a very swarmy season this year. I think it is like this for a number of reasons, including the weather, overcrowding in hives and the Queen bees getting old."

"All those things have come this year so we have hit a sweet spot for it to become a particularly swarmy season."

He added: "These things seem to have happened at once this year so there have been swarms everywhere.

"We even had one this month on the stage at a Bruce Springsteen concert at Villa Park in Birmingham.

"Temperatures this year have been particularly warm and all the bee workers in a hive are sisters or half-sisters so they're closely related and so generally they are very similar.

"You could almost recognise it as a super organism of animals, but then some fly off with the Queen to start new colonies. This happens when the weather is hot, as I say, when there is overcrowding or when the Queen is getting old, and other factors."

The weather has also apparently led to a record invasion of Asian Hornets and both types of insects can be fatal, Mr Vivian warned.

He said: "Swarming bees are generally placid because, although there are around 5,000 there, they have no home to protect.

"Typically, 200 bee stings become fatal, so there is a very small chance a swarm can become fatal."

Mr Vivian, who has established colonies of bees on top of three buildings in Birmingham, stressed the insects are a vital part of any ecosystem.

He added: "Life without bees would soon become boring. A lot of our food is pollinated by bees and we don't realise it. Apples, pears and citrus fruits rely on pollination from bees."

Meanwhile, a meteorological consultant has predicted a "heat dome" as temperatures are expected to rise again, further exasperating the swarms of the bugs.

Jim Dale, the British Weather Services' senior meteorological consultant, said the effects of the global El Nino phenomenon are likely to make the rest of 2023 another scorcher.

The middle to late July, combined with early to mid-August, is traditionally the warmest period, and global temperatures are breaking records, owing to the Pacific Ocean cyclical warming.

Mr Dale said: "We could easily get those heat spikes again from North Africa. There's every chance of beating the 32.2C from earlier this year; that would be a good peak in any normal year.

"But there's also every chance we'll break the 35C mark in the second week of July and August. That's a 50:50 chance.

"The 40C is more likely in August than in July. But there's everything to play for as far as the summer is concerned."

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