Busy Black Country bees saved by Salvation Army
BUILDERS at Oldbury got a surprise when they discovered a huge bee hive in a crumbling chimney at the Salvation Army site on Merton Close earlier this year.
The Bees were disturbed back in mid-february when work began on a house that the Salvation Army had designated for use by a partner charity, Stepway, who provide support for veterans.
Dancing
Captain Beverley Wardley, co-leader of the church said: “We had asked local builders to remove the chimney, as it was no longer safe. Soon after the builders started work, I looked up and saw what I thought was the builders dancing on the scaffolding. I came out to see what was going on, but realised they weren’t dancing, but trying to avoid bees that had been disturbed by the building work.”
The builders advised the church leaders that the bees could be removed using approved contractors, however, the leaders of the church already knew of bee experts from another project in Worcester.
Beverley said: “I was directed to someone called Tony. He agreed to come over and take a look at our chimney.”
Tony, a beekeeper from Kidderminster agreed to remove the bees and take them to a place where they would be safe and have new hives.
He helped the church leaders remove the bees, honeycomb and honey from the chimney stack causing minimal disruption. He said: “Bees like to make their home in any place where it is quiet, so this was ideal as it hadn’t been used for a little while.
Joy
“I’ve seen bee hives in trees, cars, bushes, attics and dustbins. It was a joy to help remove the bees and potentially stop them stinging people on site. Most of my hives are in allotments or orchards and the bees pollinate vegetables and fruit trees.”
Beverley said: “I hadn’t had any dealings with bees before, but I wasn’t expecting this! The bees had been storing their honey up there for maybe five years and made a big home on our site. It was amazing to see they had constructed this hive in the sanctuary of the house.
“It took my breath away as I looked at the perfectly formed honeycomb as we gently removed the old mortar and bricks, there was fullness of life in the hive. We wanted to ensure God’s creation was protected and cared for.”
Around 3,000 bees were saved from the chimney. The bees plus the queen bee, were transplanted safely from Oldbury to Kidderminster with their honeycomb in wooden boxes.
The members of the church later got a taste of the honey as it was kept on site and offered for anyone to try.