Hive removal a win for bees, family

When Rancho Sahuarita residents first eyed the large, dark splotch in the mesquite tree in their front yard, they thought a garbage bag had gotten stuck in the branches.

After a closer look, they were surprised to see thousands of bees swarming around a chunk of honeycomb the size of a basketball.

That’s when the Hawkins family, who live in the Entrada Bonita subdivision, searched the internet for extermination companies that would get rid of the nest, which was growing and alarming families in the neighborhood. They discovered that Terminex would charge about $150 to kill the bees, but a beekeeper from Hereford would drive 90 miles, for less money, to save them.

After doing some online research about the increasing scarcity of honeybees, dying off because of mites and other parasites that cause Colony Collapse Disorder, the couple decided to go with Monty McDaniel, “The Bee Man,” over an exterminator.

“It’s almost a crime to kill these bees,” said McDaniel, who along with his wife, Jeannie, makes a living removing unwanted bees and re-establishing the colony in man-made hives on their farm. They then sell the honey and wax the bees produce and the pollen they collect.

Mites, Colony Colapse Disorder (CCD), and the long drought the Southwest has been make things very difficult for beekeepers.

Monty arrived at the Rancho home last week prepared with an ice chest, a beekeeping suit to protect him from stings, and a sprayer to douse the hive in sugar water, which calms the bees before he removes the hive, he said.

“They’ll start cleaning themselves and feeding off the sugar water,” he explained.

After removing the hive without incident and placing it in the ice chest, McDaniel let homeowner Joe Hawkins have a taste of the honeycomb produced in his own front yard. Later, he brought the family a jar of homemade desert honey, which he says has a distinct taste because of the variety of desert plants Arizona bees pollinate.

“This swarm could make up to five gallons of honey for me in a year’s time,” he said.

McDaniel explained that a swarm will settle anywhere the queen lands. He’s seen nests on the sides of houses and the hoods of cars. They can spring up overnight, but this one had been growing for about a week and a half.

McDaniel also said the bees could have been more aggressive than they were.

“Once they start building a honeycomb, they want to stay put in that spot, and they can become very defensive,” he said. “But these bees are good bees.”

For more information about live bee removal, go to www.thebeemanaz.com or call 520-559-3434.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726