Beekeepers remove, relocate swarm of thousands of bees in Daley Plaza
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This story has been all the buzz for the past couple of days.
A swarm of bees – totaling a few thousand in number – decided to make Daley Plaza their temporary home. As word got out, the city decided to take action to protect the bees and people.
The honeybees were spotted on Wednesday afternoon, clustering together on a low branch of a locust tree at the southeast corner of Daley Plaza, at Washington and Dearborn streets.
The bees were in about the same place throughout the day Thursday as the Daley Plaza City Market set up, went through a day of business, and shut down. But late in the afternoon, the bees left the branch and took to the air – hovering in a cloud above the tree before settling on a different, higher branch.
By Thursday afternoon, the locust tree – which is best known as year-round a roost for pigeons – was the subject of a swarm of attention.
Matt Vaske, a beekeeper with The Hive Supply in Pilsen, came to the scene late in the day.
"We got the call that there was a swarm out here," he told CBS 2's Noel Brennan.
Vaske explained the swarm results bees splitting from their hive in search of a new home.
"An expedition, if you will," he said.
But they needed a little help getting to that home.
"We're going to have to get something to get us up there," Vaske said.
Soon afterward, a bucket truck pulled up on the granite pavers of Daley Plaza. Camera crews watched – and an array of people took video with their smartphones – as beekeeper Naaman Gambill went up in a cherry picker on the truck.
Everyone was watching in the CBS 2 newsroom too – including Joe Donlon.
Gambill's goal was to coax the bees into boxes – and to keep calm before the swarm. He succeeded – albeit with a few stings.
Gambill took down a branch and even had to scoop the bees out of the bucket on his cherry picker – but he got the bees safely into the boxes, including the queen.
CBS 2's Brennan did not get stung while covering this story, but a bee did find its way back into the CBS 2 newsroom while stuck in his hair.
The Public Building Commission of Chicago says the bees will find a new home at Sweet Beginnings in North Lawndale – a company that manages bee farms.
