During the Sept. 3 involvement fair, as the Hive Minders revelled in the sunny day’s optimism, they were met by the worst news beekeepers can receive.
Scarlett Olszewski, a third-year biology major and member of the Hive Minders described hearing about the incident from USF’s facilities contact and beekeeping mentor Jeff: “He was like, ‘Guys we’ve got a situation’ … I’m wearing my bee glasses and antennas on, we are having a grand ol’ time.” Jeff revealed someone had been stung in the parking lot.
The Pollinator Garden, to the right of the Community Garden by the School of Education, had two hives there at the time. These hives are tended by the Hive Minders, a beekeeping club on campus, but the incident that day was slightly out of the ordinary.
Hive C One-Half was a hive that had displayed slight signs of aggression, but nothing that worried the keepers too much. Around a week before the Sept. 4 incident, neighbors had complained of several cases of “bumping,” the phenomena in which bees “bump” into people, flying at them repeatedly in a territorial display of aggression.
Olszewski elaborated that at the time, “they hadn’t, like, been antagonizing people in the parking lot — no bee stings.” But according to the Hive Minders, the colony’s general temperament grew worse over time; their behavior erupted on Sept. 4.
In order to address neighbor’s complaints, the Hive Minders prepared to move the hive into the compost area of Lone Mountain. In an apology posted Sept. 5 to Instagram, the Hive Minders explained the uprooting to a new location on the night of Sept. 3 disoriented and alarmed the bees.
Olszewski explained that the traditional protocol wasn’t able to be followed due to the urgency from the university: “You’re supposed to move hives either six feet at a time or three miles from each other.” This allows bees to either notice the change in small increments, or reset their navigation from scratch. Olszewski said, “So that made the bee activity even worse.”
After this move, midday Sept. 4, the hive’s activity was heightened, buzzing around the parking lot, looking for their hive and stinging at least one student. A representative from Public Safety stated, “The USF public safety officers responded to the Sept. 4 incident and performed as they would for any public safety situation. They secured the area, sent out communications to students, faculty, and staff via an emergency alert system, and they followed up with those who were directly affected (students and faculty).”
Olszewski was one of two students who later went to check on the bees, until Jeff gives the unfortunate news that Hive C One-Half must be put down due to their aggression becoming even more severe. “It made people really scared. Everyone was texting asking what was going on,” she said. Previous swarms have been docile, allowing students to get a closer look at the insects causing a lot of interest in the Hive Minders club.
“I just don’t want anyone to be worried … there are bees everywhere; it’s not just because we have hives that there are bees … There’s going to be hives either way. We are just trying to cultivate a healthy environment for them here.” Olszewski said, “They pollinate our trees so our fruit trees are fruitful and our community garden is lush … if you don’t know about them they can be scary … they die if they sting you so that’s not their goal.”
The bees now in the gardens by the School of Education are docile, Olszewski elaborated, “Hive D, which is now Hive A, is in the pollinator garden, and they are not aggressive. I repeat, not aggressive.” Alongside Hive A is Hive B, which was just harvested for honey. They are docile bees with absolutely no problems. Though there might be increased bee activity for days to come, as they fully adjust to their new home.
