A MONMOUTHSHIRE beekeeper has shared the amazing moment he found some of his bees alive at one of his apiaries in Mathern, despite the site being submerged by floodwater.
Darren Lloyds, who has bees in 10 separate apiaries around Monmouthshire as part of Pentwyn Farm Honey, said he was left “depressed” on Sunday when a Mathern farmer rang him to tell him his 18 hives at Mathern had been submerged by floodwater from Storm Dennis.
Pictures taken by Mr Lloyds yesterday afternoon showed the devastation the flood caused to his Mathern apiary.
He says he is sure at least 20 per cent of his stock has been affected by the flooding, with hives worth £500 each.
The bees were found yesterday afternoon with the help of Mr Lloyds' thermal imagery camera
“I’ve been a beekeeper for 12 years and have had the apiary at Mathern for four years, and I’ve never had anything like this,” he said.
Describing the scene when he visited the site on Sunday, he said: “I was depressed and annoyed. We thought all of the bees had gone, there seemed no way that any of them could have survived given that the hive boxes have holes in them.
Mr Lloyd has been a beekeeper for 12 years
“Water would have almost certainly entered the hives and the bees would have been submerged.
“There was nothing I could do at that point because there was just far too much water.”
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On his return to the site yesterday afternoon, Mr Lloyds was amazed to find, with the help of his thermal imagery camera, that some of his bees were still alive. One hive - which contains approximately 10,000 bees - showed signs of life.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the glow from the hive - it’s truly amazing,” he said.
“I just can’t understand how they’ve survived with so much water submerging them.
The state of Mr Lloyds' apiary at Mathern after the floods
“All I can think is that they’ve somehow managed to seal the hive themselves.
“If they managed to seal the holes completely then there is a chance the hive may have been able to float.”
It wasn’t all good news for Mr Lloyds, who believes it is very unlikely other bees on the site survived.
“Six of the hives have floated away and were no where to be seen,” he said.
“And of the other 12, it seems to me that just one of the hives survived - which was more than I was expecting."
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