A-Team called in to rescue bee colony from extinction

04 November 2009

The Bee-Team in action

IN 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no-one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The Bee-Team."

They maybe (mostly) the lyrics to the hit 1980's TV series the A-Team, but a mercy mission to save a doomed bee hive from oblivion was planned with the exact precision of the hit series.

Jeff Hough of Station Road, Crayford, had been happy to have a feral colony of honey bees living in his chimney for several years, but major building work meant the whole stack had to come down.

Not wanting his guests to come to any harm, especially as bee numbers critical to plant pollination are in severe decline, he called the bee rescue equivalent of the A-Team.

Mr T, aka David Rea, chairman of Sidcup Beekeepers, was among a crack team of three chosen for their calm under pressure along with a rank novice who went purely for the experience of a lifetime.

Right on script, Mr Rea said: "At first I doubted it could be done. The bees were entering right at the top of the stack, three storeys high and it was clear from the numbers flying in and out that it was a strong colony.

"I suspected things could get difficult if the bees reacted violently to the bricks being hammered out."

It was also impossible to tell where in the chimney the brood nest actually was, so club members might have had a lot of demolition to supervise.

The colony was located in the stack top and the comb started to appear as soon as the pot came off.

But it also became clear that the nest was enormous - brick by brick, more and more comb appeared until seven slabs, each nearly 5ft long were exposed.

Thankfully, the chimney was clean, so as the brood nest was cut out it could be mounted straight away into hive frames. The honeycomb was packed into boxes and buckets for later use feeding the colony - and rewarding the team.

Colonel "Hannibal" Smith, aka Peter Marsh, the experienced beekeeper who led the team, said: "Thankfully the bees were very docile and in excellent health - no sign of virus diseases and apparently no varroa mites which can cause so much harm in hive colonies.

"We scooped out five large measuring jugs of bees to pour into the hive and they have settled happily in my back garden, getting ready for winter."

Mr Hough said he was very pleased with the outcome and shared his honeycomb with friends and neighbours.

At a time when the importance of bees is more widely recognised than ever before, Sidcup Beekeepers were also pleased and hope Mr Hough will take up more orthodox beekeeping next year.

n Photographs of the event can be seen at their website www.ruxleybeekeepers.org.uk