There’s a buzz about Ayrshire as Kilmarnock Fire Station has welcomed new inhabitants - a hive of honey-producing bees.
Staff at the Kilmarnock station received help from Dreghorn Community Fire Station, where a hive has been working for several years.
The original Dreghorn Queen bee and 15,000 of her workers moved to Kilmarnock in May, where they are now being cared for by Crew Commander Leroy Shaw.
The colony thrived in its new home and grew to around 70,000, but numbers will reduce to around 15,000 as the bees prepare to hibernate in the winter.
The station's bees have managed to produce around 20lbs of honey in their first year, with jars given to staff, external partners and even local nurseries and schools.
The future also looks sweet after Leroy even entered a local honey show and won first prize for the station's batch.
Next year the station plans to give free jars of honey to school children to help provide education on bees and their importance to our environment.
Limited edition honey will also be sold, with the proceeds going to local charity the Crosshouse Children’s Fund.
At Dreghorn Community Fire Station, firefighter Stephen McAnespie looks after the hives, with his dad Phil having over 20 years of beekeeping experience.
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