When a swarm of bees attempted to make a hive out of a traveller’s vehicle in Valleyview on May 20, Central Peace-Notley MLA Todd Loewen was called and removed them.
Loewen arrived dressed accordingly to escort the misplaced swarm out of the vehicle. Loewen has been beekeeping for four years and has learnt over that time how to handle bees properly.
The traveller had called 911 after realizing what happened, and the 911 dispatcher made a call to Robin Coward, a beekeeper in the area. Coward knew that the MLA was close by and called him to ask if he could help the individual out.
Loewen arrived in a full bee suit and took a few minutes to brush most of the bees into a bag.
Afterwards, Loewen climbed into the vehicle and removed the remaining bees individually and then released the bees back outside.
“I’m not sure if the normal process for 911 is to call a beekeeper, but I’m guessing that since the beekeeper would have the expertise and equipment when RCMP and emergency services would not, it’s probably a really good idea,” said Loewen when asked if this was normally how this type of situation was dealt with.
Loewen stated that he has been called before to remove swarms in people’s yards but never in a car or any other vehicle. It is not usual for a swarm of bees to go into a vehicle.
Loewen also said that the queen bee was not with the other bees when he removed them, which led him to believe that the queen bee may have went into the vehicle and left behind pheromones on the inside door where the bees had gathered.
The queen bee would have also taken most of the bees with her, and that is why not more bees had been left behind.
It is unusual for bees to swarm this time of year, as this behaviour is more typical during the summer and fall.
“I am definitely not a bee expert, but I have learned a lot in the past four years from a combination of listening to experienced beekeepers and hands on experience,” Loewen said.
When bees swarm, they are generally looking for a good place to make a hive. Beekeepers like to set up a location that has shelter from the wind, usually along a tree line.
It is good to have beehives close to a plentiful flower source such as an Alfalfa, Clover, or Canola fields. Access to water is also important.
“A car with open doors wouldn’t qualify as a good place, so normally, the bees would move along on their own,” added Loewen.
It could have taken up to several hours for these bees to move out of the vehicle, which would be inconvenient for someone, especially those travelling with a child as this traveller was.
Honey production has dropped in the last two years because of wildfires and wet summers. Over this last winter, beekeepers have witnessed a higher than average loss of bees. Factored with border restrictions and less bees being able to be brought in due to COVID-19, beekeepers have had a difficult past couple of years.