Page 30 - Silver Lakes_Issue 9_2022

LIFESTYLE

RESCUING WILD COLONIES OF AFRICAN

HONEY BEES AND RELOCATING THEM

he mission of Bee Guardians (Pty) Ltd An apiculturist specialising in bee removals It will also be helpful if you describe any other
and Bee Removal.co.za is to safeguard will have the expertise, knowledge aspect of the cavity or of the bees, such as:
Tand sustain our African honey bees and experience to manage the bees • how high off the ground the bee opening
through research, education and training – professionally and will be able to minimise or nest is (single/double-storey roof,
for the sake of both the bee population and the risk of any harm occurring to the client, fourth floor, 13m up in a tree, in a
humankind. neighbours, pets and other animals in the borehole, on a cellphone tower or other
vicinity. structure, etc.)
Worldwide, honey bees are endangered and • if anything has been done in an attempt
unless we intervene, catastrophe will ensue. Please note that not every person in a to get rid of them (someone sprayed
As the brilliant physicist Albert Einstein put it: white bee-suit is equipped to remove a wild them, smoked them or an attempt was
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the colony of bees! Your safety is our foremost made by another beekeeper to remove
globe, then man would only have four years consideration. them)
of life left. No more bees, no more pollination,
no more plants, no more animals, no more What to do when you encounter bees Costs of a bee removal
man.” It is very important to explain to the The removal of a colony of honey bees is
apiculturist what you’ve seen, for example: comparable to any other professional home
Honey bees are essentially cavity dwellers, • where the bees are located service, such as a plumber, electrician or
although they sometimes build open nests in • the size of the cluster of bees small building contractor, and so it will
trees and other structures. Originally, honey • the number of bees seen working in and carry a professional service fee. The service
bees built their nests in any cavity they could out of the opening rendered is the contracted removal of a
find in the wild, such as caves, holes in trees • how long they have been there problem – in this case, wild honey bees.
and animal dugouts.

Thanks to the development and proliferation
of man-made structures, honey bees are now
often found colonising cavities near human
homes – cavities such as roofs, electric meter
boxes, pool pump covers, municipal waste
bins, lamp posts, bird logs, owl boxes, etc. This,
of course, can become problematic. That’s
because the African honey bee (Apis Mellifera
Scutellata) has a notoriously defensive nature
and could be potentially dangerous.

Interfering with these insects – for example,
by prodding or throwing things at them, using
insecticide or other sprays, shooing them
away or scorching them – will cause them to
react violently, perhaps with fatal results.

Anyone encountering a wild colony of honey
bees should leave them alone and contact
a specialised apiculturist (beekeeper), who
must be registered with the Department
of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development. You should also contact an
active member of an accredited beekeeping
association.

28 | INTRAMUROS OCTOBER 2022