SINGAPORE : Beehives have been creating some buzz in the
estates in Singapore. One of them was in Woodlands.
A MediaCorp News hotline caller saw a one-metre long
beehive that was just beginning to form.
The caller told Channel NewsAsia that the bees started
flying into her flat on Thursday night. Residents called the town
council, which removed the beehive.
Nearby, another small colony of bees had also started to
form, but was destroyed by pest controllers.
The bee menace has been reported in several estates,
including one in Hougang Avenue 8 last Thursday.
Residents said the swarm of bees appeared within the span
of just a few hours.
"I didn't know at first, until my neighbour from the 16th
floor told me. Then I went to see. There were really a lot of bees,
like lanterns dangling there."
A spokesperson from Aljunied Town Council said he had
received feedback from residents about the swarm of bees at 11am
that day.
And the bees were removed thirty minutes later, using
chemical sprays.
Margie Hall from the Nature Society of Singapore, said the
bees are likely to be honey bees. And they appeared to be treating
the staircase landing as a temporary refuge while they sought a
permanent home.
Margie Hall, honorary secretary, Nature Society
(Singapore), said: "They're not inherently aggressive at all, so
long as they're allowed to go peacefully about their business, they
have no intention of stinging everybody, they're not out to get
anybody.
"But if they get upset, then they will sting people, and
they might get upset if people walk into their path of
flight."
As the bees are congregating in an urban setting, Ms Hall
said they can pose a danger to those living around the
area.
So even though bees, as prime pollinators, are a vital
part of the eco-system, Ms Hall said destroying them with chemical
sprays may be inevitable.
She said: "They're obviously a last resort as you're going
to kill and destroy the bees. But how quickly you move to the last
resort depends upon how many people you've got around, and how much
control you've got over what people do."
And her advice to those who encounter huge swarms of bees
is to stay far away.
- CNA/al