Feral bee hive at Llano’s Badu Park outgrowing home

LLANO — On July 19, Walter Schumacher — known as the “Bee Czar” of Central Texas — inspected his bee trap or “box,” surrounding the main entryway of the hive of 250,000 bees in the trunk of a giant oak tree at Badu Park.

The City of Llano invited Schumacher, who operates Austin-based Central Texas Bee Rescue, to offer solutions about the growing bee hive.

Over several years, the hive has stretched farther into the large oak. Concerns include damage to the tree as well as a growing number of bees.