LIHU’E — A swarm of honeybees descended upon Grove Farm Golf Course Monday, forced the temporary closure of one of the entrances to the course from about the lunch hour until late in the afternoon when a beekeeper could remove
LIHU’E — A swarm of honeybees descended upon Grove Farm Golf Course Monday,
forced the temporary closure of one of the entrances to the course from about
the lunch hour until late in the afternoon when a beekeeper could remove
them.
Chas Danbury, a beekeeper from Kilauea, said the bees normally swarm
in the warmer months. Apparently, what happened to this swarm, which was
seeking a site for a new hive, was that a passing car hit the queen, knocking
her onto the ground, he said.
Because the queen, who was close to death,
was sending out her scent, the remainder of the swarm — estimated in the
thousands — remained with her. With the queen so close to death, most of the
swarm was disoriented but refused to stop protecting her, Danbury
explained.
Before the grounded swarm was discovered shortly after 11 a.m.,
several other motorists had run over the gathering, creating an even higher
death toll as dead bees littered the intersection leading to the golf course
and the four-lane Kukui Grove Road. The remaining bees hovered about the group
while others huddled about the stricken queen and fallen comrades, their bodies
and wings in constant motion.
State Department of Health personnel
monitored the situation along with maintenance workers from Kukui Grove
Shopping Center, who coned off the intersection and placed yellow cautio’ tapes
to mark off the closed area that was peppered with flying bees.
Ferdinand
Lagundino, one of the Kukui Grove workers, maintained a vigil, warning people
about getting too close.
J. Robertson, the shopping center’s promotions
manager, also made several trips to the site, concerned about the Monday
Farmers’ Market which fills the parking lot on the opposite side of Kukui Grove
Road.
When swarms light, they can stay “10 minutes, an hour, two days,”
said Leroy Tangalin, supervisor of vector control for the health department on
Kaua’i. The length of their visit depends on whether they pose a threat to
people. Officials said there was no high risk of danger yesterday, despite the
nearby businesses and motorists.
Kukui Grove management contacted
professional beekeepers to have the swarm removed, and Danbury was the first to
respond.
While unaware golfers, shoppers and motorists went about their
business, bees continued to buzz about the area. Danbury explained that in the
swarming process, bees gorge themselves on enough honey to last two or three
days and were therefore “sedated on honey.” This kept them from aggressively
going after intruders in the area, he said.
As Danbury placed the injured
queen bee into one of the bee boxes he uses to collect swarms, he noted that if
the hive had already been established, the nature of the bees would be more
aggressive because they would be protecting their established territory.
“I
didn’t even know about them (the bees),” one diner at the PuaKea Grill said
while peeking at the coned-off area from the safety of one of the restaurant’s
windows. “My car is almost right there. No one told us anything.”
Danbury
said yesterday’s swarm were not the “killer” bees that have been reported on
the mainland.
As the excitement wore down, Danbury used a smoke gun to urge
the remaining bees into the box. However, he noted that all of the bees could
not be collected.
If the situation had happened off the roadway, he said
he would leave the box for a period of time or until sunset when all the bees
return, which would allow them to gather in their new home. However, due to
the need to reopen the roadway, he collected whatever he could using the smoke
gun.
The remaining bees, he explained, would either return to the hive they
started out from, or find another hive to join. But, if left at the site with
their ailing queen, the swarm would’ve been doomed to extinction as the worker
bees would not abandon their queen.
The collection process complete, the
roadway and intersection were reopened shortly before 4:30 p.m.
There were
no reports of anyone being stung by the bees. An employee at the golf course
said the presence of the bees had no effect on business.
If bees swarm in
yards or other areas frequented by people, “keep away from them. And don’ t
swat at them or antagonize them,” Tangalin said.
Staff writer Dennis
Fujimoto can be reached at 245-3681. Editor Pat Jenkins contributed to this
report.
