Bee hive near Marble Falls soccer field being removed after incident
Bee hive removal in Marble Falls. Staff photo by Daniel Clifton
DANIEL CLIFTON • EDITOR
MARBLE FALLS — Beekeepers on March 10 were prepping to remove a hive in a tree along the Marble Falls Hike and Bike Trail after the bees became aggressive the day before and stung a woman.
Rebecca Nunnally of Kinfolk Honey said the bees in this incident were honey bees and not the Africanized variety.
“I’ve never come across an (Africanized) hive in this area,” she said.
Marble Falls Fire Rescue and Marble Falls Area EMS responded to the area on the hike and bike trail between The Greens youth soccer fields and the Childress Park baseball diamonds March 9 after someone reported bees chased a woman and stung her.
Marble Falls EMS transported the woman to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Marble Falls with non-life-threatening injuries after bees stung her approximately 30 times.
Fire officials cordoned off the area around the hive.
On March 10, Rebecca Nunnally and her daughter, Mary Nunnally, were in the process of removing the hive. Rebecca said honey bees can become agitated in cloudy or overcast conditions, which was the situation March 9.
For the most part, however, honey bees aren’t aggressive unless something is threatening them or their hive, she added.
The hive was located about 15 feet up in the tree. The two women placed a wire cone around the main hive and entrance, which allows the bees to exit but not re-enter. Then, they placed a box with honey and a bee comb inside in the tree near the hive.
Rebecca explained that when the bees can’t get into their hive but locate the box with the comb and honey in it, they should begin setting up a new hive inside the box. Once the hive has relocated to the box, the Nunnallys will remove it and take it to their bee hives outside of Marble Falls.
The challenge in this situation, they pointed out, is ensuring they locate and plug all the other entrances and exits to the initial hive. With a tree like this one, Rebecca said, there could be a number of ways the bees get in and out. Mary was placing steel wool in the other possible entrances and exits.
As spring gets underway, Rebecca said the number of bees and bee activity increases, but, she added, honey bees generally are not aggressive and will not sting unless provoked. If someone does find a hive, she advises them to contact a beekeeper or a company that removes hives such Kinfolk Honey (kinfolkhoney.com).
daniel@thepicayune.com
2 thoughts on “Bee hive near Marble Falls soccer field being removed after incident”
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Way to go!
When you find a hive, who ya gonna call?
Kinfolk Honey!! Loving bee removal
Thats odd. Ive never seen bees attack someone unprovoked unless they are africanized. The hive was likely there most of last year without issues. The park did the right thing though.