North Lanarkshire · Swarm collection

Bee swarm in Airdrie? Help is a minute away.

Airdrie is an upland market town on the North Lanarkshire plateau east of Coatbridge, at around 170 metres above sea level where the agricultural plain begins to give way to the moorland edge toward the Hillend Reservoir and the Forrestfield uplands. The town's elevated position means spring arrives a week or two later than on the Clyde plain, but the hawthorn hedgerows on the farm lanes south of the town toward Caldercruix and the improved grasslands of the Monkland canal corridor carry a reliable May-to-July forage sequence. Wester Moffat and the Hillend area above Airdrie carry gorse and broom scrub on the upland fringe, and the canal corridor provides himalayan balsam into September.

Postcodes we cover
ML6
Where swarms appear in Airdrie

Typical swarm locations

Collectors attend swarms on the hawthorn hedgerows and sycamore of the farm lanes south toward Caldercruix, along the Monkland Canal himalayan balsam margins and towpath elder scrub, on the gorse scrub of the Wester Moffat upland fringe above the town, and in the older stone terrace chimney stacks and eave voids of the streets around Graham Street and Broomknoll Street.

Powered by SwarmBase

Beekeeping associations near Airdrie

Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.

  • Carlisle Beekeepers

    CA6 4HN· approx. 120 km

    Visit website
  • Cockermouth Beekeepers

    CA13 0AU· approx. 139 km

  • Keswick Beekeepers

    CA12 4NT· approx. 150 km

Association data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.

Forage in North Lanarkshire

Sycamore is the dominant May flow tree across North Lanarkshire, most productive in the residential streets and country parks of the Clyde plain. White clover on the improved amenity grasslands and the agricultural fields of the Kelvin and Calder valleys peaks in June and July. The Forth and Clyde Canal corridor through Kilsyth carries himalayan balsam from late July; bramble is prolific on the former steelworks and colliery reclamation sites throughout Motherwell, Coatbridge and Bellshill. Drumpellier Country Park near Coatbridge and Strathclyde Country Park near Motherwell provide sheltered lime and hawthorn parkland forage. The Campsie Fells above Kilsyth carry heather and bilberry from late July into September — accessible heather ground for North Lanarkshire beekeepers willing to make a short journey up the hill. Gorse is dense on the moorland fringe above Kilsyth and Cumbernauld; ivy closes the calendar in October in the older town centres.

More on beekeeping in North Lanarkshire
Nearby towns

Swarm help in neighbouring towns

Seen a swarm in Airdrie?

Report it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.