As someone who is, not scared of bees, but certainly prefers to give them a wide berth, I find the idea of keeping these creatures fascinating.

Whenever I see a bee I freeze and wait until it flies away, so I don’t think I could cope if there were hundreds of them living in my garden.

But there are lots of people who don’t share my feelings towards the flying insects, and I spoke to two of them this week.

Ann Ovens is the secretary of the Aberystwyth and District Beekeepers Association.

I asked Ann how she got involved with beekeeping.

“I’ve always kept animals – poultry, geese and so on – and about 40 years ago I got a colony of bees and they were so different,” she explained.

“Even now, I learn new things about them. They’re fascinating.”

Ann has 10 hives at her home near Talybont. They require a lot of work, especially at this time of year, but Ann is happy to put in the hours.

“Bees do their own thing. You can’t control them. And looking after them... It’s not something you can just set up and leave alone. You do have to work, and it’s very manual work, lifting and carrying and observing them. And the weather is so variable, and they’re very weather dependent.

“But this year has been an exceptionally good year, thanks to the warm, dry weather.”

Ann extracts honey from the hives which she sells from her home, but production will slow down later in the year, and working with the bees will become less intensive.

“In winter you can leave them alone,” she said. “You have to make sure in autumn that they have enough food to last them, but then they slow down and you can leave them to it.”

Ann has been secretary of ABKA (Aberystwyth and District Beekeepers Association) for about 10 years. The aim of the group, which has 65 members, is to promote beekeeping in the area and to help those who take on the challenge of setting up hives at home.

“We have equipment people can hire and we can buy things in bulk to make it a bit cheaper, and we have taster sessions where people can learn how to keep bees. We also connect people with beekeepers who can help them through their first year.”

Ann is also the go-to person if there’s a swarm of bees.

“People often call to say they have a swarm of unwanted bees and quite often it’s a small nest.

“Bees are not protected, but they are endangered, so it’s best to leave them alone if they’re not causing any trouble or posing any danger.

“If bumble bees or other pollinators have set up a nest, they will only be there for a short time.

“If honey bees have made a nest and that nest can be reached, a member of the association will come and take them away.”

See this week’s south papers for the full feature, available in shops and as a digital edition now