Migrating bees make a stop in the campus quad
BEES IN THE TREES
Saddleback College was buzzing with excitement Monday morning when students arrived to find a migrating colony of bees attached to a tree in the Student Services Center quad. The area was roped off around 2:45 p.m. Monday when representatives from The Bee Man bee removal company arrived to remove the bees, and hopefully relocate them to a hobbyist.
“Migrating colony’s of honey bees are very common during the fall and early spring,” said Steve Gregory of The Bee Man, “they are however very docile.”
Migrating swarms of bees are less likely to be aggressive because they do not have a hive to protect.
The bees that briefly populated the tree in the quad, likely arrived over the weekend.
“Typically, these bees only stay for one to three days, after about the fourth day, the odds flip against the bees, and out of necessity where ever they’re at, will become the new hive,” Gregory said.
This isn’t the first time Saddleback has been inundated with the pesky critters, Gregory said.
Migrating swarms occur about eight times a year when hives become too large for one queen bee to manage, according to Gregory, and the hives population splits.