Gunnedah was a hive of activity this week as a colony of bees decided to adopt a street tree as their new home.
The bee swarm, which appeared to be of the European honey bee variety, was seen clinging to a small tree at the corner of Chandos and Conadilly Street on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Amateur Beekeepers Australia, a swarm occurs when the queen bee, accompanied by several thousand worker bees, leaves the nest (wild) or beehive and searches for a new home. Upon leaving the nest or hive, the swarm will often only travel a short distance (up to 100m) and gather on a nearby tree branch, house eave or other handy structure while scout bees travel further afield to locate a permanent site.
The bees graciously agreed to pose for a photo for the Gunnedah Times before continuing their important work in the pollination of agricultural crops, such as many of our nuts, fruit and vegetables in the region.
