Wasted Effort

We got a call today at the university about a swarm of bees. They said that the bees had already been sprayed and there was a big pile of dead bees, but there were survivors and they wanted to know if we were interested in saving those. My first reaction to that news was to respond to them that next time please call before spraying instead of after, and we will gladly come and remove them, solve their problem, and save all the bees. In other words I responded negatively, but I had mixed feelings. I half wanted to go and try to save them.

I then posted an email to the Organic Beekeepers List and asked the question, “Is it worth going to pick them up?” One person responded and said that he had been called about a swarm that had been sprayed with wasp and hornet spray and had picked them up, they recovered and did very well, and he was now making a split from them. I then decided to change my mind and see if I could get them.

We tried calling before we left (the location was a large apartment complex near the airport) to see if the bees were still there, but the person did not answer the phone, so I decided to go anyway. We had been told that they would dispose of them after 2:00 p.m., so we hurried to arrive before that time. We got there at 1:45 p.m. and found out that they had just finished vacuuming up the rest of the bees right before we got there, so it was a wasted effort. At least I tried.

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