LOMPOC, Calif. – It was a jarring sight for Lompoc mom Melody Lara to see right by her daughter’s bus stop.
“I would say the cluster [of bees] was the size of a bowling ball on the curb, right across the street from the bus stop,” Lara said.
Lara, a bee lover herself, says kids were antagonizing the swarm the past few days.
“I wasn’t really worried about my kids because I’ve taught my kids if there’s bees, they’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone; but it was a little disturbing when I found out kids were throwing stuff at the bees,” Lara said.
On Friday help for the bees came in a white suit. Archie Mitchell is a member of the Lompoc Valley Beekeepers Association.
He says this time of year is popular for swarms to show up, but typically they’re harmless.
“If they are hanging for a long period of time in a bush, you have to be a little bit conservative when you approach them because sometimes they will get defensive depending on how long they’ve been there,” Mitchell explained.
Mitchell says he’d like to see more people like Lara who are aware of the importance of bees, so fewer of them get killed.
“I was actually more worried for the bees than for people around the bees. [Bees are] in the danger zone of becoming endangered and since they are in charge of pollinating a lot of our food it did concern me for that reason,” Lara said.
Now if you have a swarm of bees, there are beekeepers associations all across Northern Santa Barbara County that will gladly come collect them for you. Click here for more information.
https://www.keyt.com/news/lompoc-valley-beekeepers-are-busy-as-swarm-season-is-underway/746267191