GREENFIELD — What started as a routine tree removal operation in front of the Four Rivers Charter Public School on Colrain Road turned into a sticky situation that led to the rescue of about 200,000 honeybees this week.
Local beekeeper David Moscaritolo of Greenfield said he received a call from Sunderland-based Northeast Tree Care and Landscaping, whose workers were taking the tree down for the Town of Greenfield, on Wednesday. Northeast owner Jason Kicza said his crew had removed part of the tree and realized that there were far more bees inside than they could handle.
“We didn’t realize the extent until we took the buttress down on Wednesday,” Kicza said. “We called (David) in because it was more than we could even begin to deal with.”
Moscaritolo said he and his son, Nick, keep bees together and knew how to safely remove them. They used a “bee vacuum” to suck the colony into a large box, then removed the honey comb and transferred it to frames.
The comb itself was about 8 feet long and eight to nine layers deep, he said.
On Friday, the pair transferred the colony to another beekeeper in Shelburne Falls, since they need to be taken far enough away that they won’t be attracted back to the same spot by their pheromones.
Moscaritolo said the situation also provided a great lesson for the students at Four Rivers, who watched the procedure and had plenty of questions to ask.
Kicza said he decided to call in a professional because he knows honey bees are becoming rarer these days, so they wanted to take a progressive approach to help wildlife when they can.
“That’s what makes it all go round, and we’re happy to have the help and keep and them around as an asset to Mother Nature,” he said.
You can reach Tom Relihan at: 413-772-0261, ext. 264
or trelihan@recorder.com
On Twitter: @RecorderTom