Palm Bay Fire Rescue Driver Engineer Duane Crowley Assists Colony of 4,000 Bees Find a New Home
By Space Coast Daily // September 22, 2020
Swarm kicked up during routine mowing at Fire Rescue HQ By the city landscaping crew
There were 3,000 to 4,000 bees in search of another location to start another hive with a new queen, migration into their new hive was complete by sundown and they will be safely relocated
BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – During some routine mowing at the Palm Bay Fire Rescue headquarters, the city landscaping crew ran over a colony of bees on the ground, which resulted in an upset swarm.
One of the chiefs knew that Duane Crowley, a Driver Engineer for Palm Bay Fire Rescue was a beekeeper, and the call went out.
Crowley arrived at the HQ in his bee jacket carrying a beehive loaded with lemongrass to simulate the scent of a queen bee and the bees immediately began entering.
Crowley estimated that there were 3,000 to 4,000 bees and explained that bees will congregate on the ground when they leave a hive and are in search of another location to start another hive with a new queen.
The migration into their new hive was complete by sundown and they will be safely relocated.
