Is it true that high-flying swallows indicate warm weather

A.� This observation is possibly better explained by a simple meteorological fact. Swallows eat while flying and their food, insects, is carried higher when the weather is warmer by thermals.

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So yes, when swallows are flying high it does indicate that the weather is warmer, but it doesn't predict how long that warm weather will last. Nor does it mean that the swallows are forecasters -�they're just following the food trail.

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Q.� Are there any other animals that apparently anticipate the weather

A.� The activity of honey bees has long been regarded as an indicator of what weather was to come.

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The ancient Greeks believed that when bees stayed in the hive it was a sign that a storm was brewing, a view also shared by Old English weather lore.

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Q.� But the logical explanation is

A.� Two long-term studies have been conducted to see if there is any basis to these beliefs. One study found no correlation between bee activity and weather. However the other study - �carried out by a student at an agricultural college in Scotland - found that there was some link, which, yes, does have a logical explanation.

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When it's raining very hard, bees don't survive, and so they don't fly away from the hive. If they're already out and about, they return to the hive as soon as the bad weather sets in.

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It may also be that when it becomes stormy, and therefore darker, bees head for home because they need the light to help them navigate.

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However a light drizzle doesn't affect them, though�while it does moisten the atmosphere, which makes nectar secretion more efficient.

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To read about how bees make honey, click here.

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Q.� What about hibernating and migratory animals, their actions must mean something

A.� Yes, obviously if hibernating animals detect winter coming they hunker down and hibernate.

Hedgehogs hold off hibernating until it gets too cold for them to be out and about. They spend the extra time foraging for more food to lay down the fat that will keep them going through the winter months.

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Migratory birds that fly to Britain from colder climes for winter arrive later if the weather is mild.

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But in most of these cases the animal is responding to the current weather conditions rather than making any long-term forecasts. However, as most animals are more sensitive to slight changes in pressure, humidity, temperature and wind than are humans, they're often regarded as weather prophets.

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Interested in getting to the bottom of a piece of animal folklore

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by Lisa Cardy