Const. Kevin Hamilton, a bee-keeper, had to smoke out a rogue colony of honeybees caught up in a turf war right by an apartment building parking lot.
Photograph by: Kelowna RCMP Detachment, Kelowna RCMP Detachment
The end to this emergency call to RCMP in Kelowna, B.C., turned out to be as sweet as honey.
But residents of an apartment complex said things could have been quite different if RCMP Const. Kevin Hamilton hadn't come in to smoke out a rogue colony of honeybees caught up in a turf war right by the tenants' parking lot.
Hamilton, a bee-keeper himself, was dispatched to the complex late Wednesday after a call that warned the ornery bees were not about to let people get to their cars.
"People couldn't get to their cars. It was like a black cloud. There were thousands of them," said Missionview Estates manager Leah Kowk. "These bees weren't happy."
The concern was for the safety of small children and elderly people who live in the complex, Kowk said.
Because it was honeybees causing the ruckus, she said, they didn't want to kill them. But they couldn't find anyone to remove them and take them to a safe place, so they called the RCMP.
Hamilton arrived in a white sting-proof suit, and with all the equipment he uses at his own apiary. He smoked out the bees from the tree they were in and then moved them into the hive box.
Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Steve Holmes said that, although the story has a happy ending, there were some tense moments in this bittersweet standoff.
"It can be deadly if someone is overrun by a swarm of bees," Holmes said. "It was a serious concern."
Holmes said they have no idea where the bees came from.
The bees were taken to an Okanagan orchard where they now will soon produce honey.
jcolebourn(at)theprovince.com
But residents of an apartment complex said things could have been quite different if RCMP Const. Kevin Hamilton hadn't come in to smoke out a rogue colony of honeybees caught up in a turf war right by the tenants' parking lot.
Hamilton, a bee-keeper himself, was dispatched to the complex late Wednesday after a call that warned the ornery bees were not about to let people get to their cars.
"People couldn't get to their cars. It was like a black cloud. There were thousands of them," said Missionview Estates manager Leah Kowk. "These bees weren't happy."
The concern was for the safety of small children and elderly people who live in the complex, Kowk said.
Because it was honeybees causing the ruckus, she said, they didn't want to kill them. But they couldn't find anyone to remove them and take them to a safe place, so they called the RCMP.
Hamilton arrived in a white sting-proof suit, and with all the equipment he uses at his own apiary. He smoked out the bees from the tree they were in and then moved them into the hive box.
Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Steve Holmes said that, although the story has a happy ending, there were some tense moments in this bittersweet standoff.
"It can be deadly if someone is overrun by a swarm of bees," Holmes said. "It was a serious concern."
Holmes said they have no idea where the bees came from.
The bees were taken to an Okanagan orchard where they now will soon produce honey.
jcolebourn(at)theprovince.com
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