National Geographic produces beautiful documentaries about whales, grizzly bears, wolves, bald eagles, elephants and lions. The lifestyles and habits of exotic animals that live far away or in remote areas are the focus of attention and draw on our inquisitive spirit. But one does not have to travel far or tune-in to Animal Planet to experience the wonders of nature.
Arborguard Tree Specialist (A’s), a colony of honey bees, Cindy Bee (B’s) and the Grant Park Conservancy and J.R. Cochran (C’s) all converged recently in a unique effort that would make the editors at Mother Earth News smile.
On Friday evening, May 2, a strong thunderstorm swept through the area and toppled four large trees in Grant Park. One of the trees snapped about halfway up leaving a large colony of bees exposed to the elements. A portion of the hive toppled with the tree and a portion remained in the broken trunk forty feet off the ground. Saturday morning, Grant Park Conservancy volunteers noticed the broken tree and swarming bees. Initially the focus became clearing the fallen tree from an area recently planted with native plants collected on a series of rescues. However, as the extent of damage to the hive became more apparent, the Conservancy contacted Cindy Bee at Honeybee Removal for help. At first there was hesitation about contacting a service. The purpose of the contact was to save the bees not to do them harm. Concerns were quickly overcome when assured by Cindy Bee that her work involved saving bees whenever possible.
That said, Cindy Bee traveled to the park to survey the needs. Within minutes she located a swarm on the ground and began to search through the swarm for a queen. With bare hands, Cindy searched through the mass until the queen was found. There was absolutely no aggressive behavior from the bees. A combination of shock and their focus on protecting their queen kept their attention. Cindy set a portable hive next to the pile of workers and gently pushed a couple into the box with her finger. After seconds in the box, these individuals came out and announced to all the others that they had found a refuge. Almost like magic and simultaneously, thousands of bees on the ground turned and began to move into the box. It was an amazing site. Twenty minutes later, the entire mass of bees on the ground was in the box and ready to be transported. They actually will be on display as an active demonstration hive at Hastings Nursery in Buckhead.
But much of the colony remained in the portion of the tree left standing. Without a queen and exposed to the weather, their survival was in question. In come the heroes from Arborguard Tree Specialists. Arborguard arborists Chris Lane and Jonathan McNeil first maneuvered a crane as close to the tree as possible. However, all the recent rain left the area soggy and soft. The crane could not get close enough. The two arborists then put their expert tree climbing skills to work. A series of ropes strung among trees close by gave Chris the platform from which to work. The task was to install a hood, fabricated and donated by J.R. Cochran Sheet Metal and Roofing, on the tree to protect the remaining hive from wind, rain, direct sun and even predators. The Conservancy ordered a new queen to be placed in the colony and Cindy Bee and the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association will provide much needed expertise.
Will the bees survive? We do not know. We do know that without this help, they have little chance of survival and we hope to see a thriving bee colony for a long time. Pollinating bees are important to the health of the trees and flowering shrubs in the park. Here are a few more facts about bees that you should know.
(UPDATE: August 03 - Over several months of observation there is no
activity around the hive. It is possible the newly installed queen bee
did not like her new surroundings and decided to take her subjects to a
different locale. It is also possible the remaining colony perished.
Whatever the outcome, the Conservancy is and will be committed to the
wild and natural elements in the park. We will nurture/protect the wild
things in order to keep the park healthy.)
A visit to the website of the University of Georgia, Department of Entomology
provides a vast amount of information about bees. An article by Keith
S. Delaplane, Extension Entomologist provides the following
information:
- Honey bees are responsible for 2-9 billion dollars in added value to American food production each year;
- Honey bees are threatened by two exotic parasites that were introduced into North America in the 1980s, the tracheal mite and the varroa mite;
- As bee populations decline, pollination declines. This translates into lower food quality and higher food prices;
- Honey bee are social bees and live in large colonies that can include 60,000 individuals;
- A specialized branch of the industry, concentrated in South
Georgia, raises bees and queens for sale and shipment to beekeepers
around the world.
For more information about bees and beekeeping contact the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association, Jim Ovbey, 770-992-4631.
