The Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-06-08, Page 7Wednesday, June 8, 2016 • Lucknow Sentinel 7
Apiarist Guy Anderson removes feral bee swarm from downtown Kincardine
Troy Patterson
Editor
Downtown Kincardine
was literally buzzing on June
1, 2016 when a feral swarm
of honey bees took up shop
in a tree in front of stores on
Queen Street.
The drone of the swarm
could be heard from about half
a block away, as members of
the public looked on with inter-
est, and in some cases horror,
giving the tree awide berth.
Others crossed the street,
while making their way
down the sidewalk and some
watched in amazement from
their vehicles as traffic
passed by.
InStyle Hair Studio manager
Stacey Buhr said her staff
looked out the window at about
noon and saw hundreds of bees
flying around the tree planted
in the streetscape just north of
her store, next to other neigh-
bouring business.
"I looked outside and they
were swanning a bit and within
10 minutes it was like a curtain
of bees," said Buhr. "And then
they started to form in the
shape of the cup on the sign
there (on the neighbouring
building). Then they all came
down into the tree."
Her staff and other members
of the public contacted former
Municipality of Kincardine
councillor Guy Anderson of
Kincardine's Lazy J Ranch
Honey, an apiarist who man-
ages over 1,200 bee colonies
and is one of the top 10 honey
producers in Ontario.
Anderson pulled his van up
to the curb next to the tree and
came equipped with his bee-
keeper suit and an empty hive
to attract the bees. He said it
was evident he had captured
the queen, when the bees
started swarming the box in
his trunk.
"If I hadn't gotten her they
would have all went back into
the tree," he said. "Most of
them are going to the box in
the back of the car."
The swarm was "feral" and
not one from his hives, he said,
which Lazy J has spread at
properties from Kincardine to
Hanover, Lucknow, Saugeen
Shores and Holland Centre.
So how does one pick up a
swarm?
"You shake it into a bucket in
this case, and then throw the
bucket into the hive," he said,
adding the feral hive may have
taken up residence in one of the
downtown buildings, or a
nearby tree. "To reproduce,
they split when they get over-
crowded. And the queen lays a
queen cell and an egg. Then she
leaves and takes half the colony
with her"
Newer buildings, con-
structed differently than his-
toric structures, often prevent
bee hives, alongside the envi-
ronmental and man-made
challenges the insects face.
But Bee hives in downtown
building walls used to be quite
common, Anderson said.
Troy Patterson/Editor
Kincardine apiarist Guy Anderson donned his beekeeper suit to remove a queen honey bee and
its swarm from a tree along the downtown streetscape on Wednesday June 1, 2016. Anderson
captured the queen in a empty box hive and trimmed the tree to get the majority of bees in his
vehicle for transport.
"They get overcrowded and
they swarm and this is just
where they landed," he said.
"She'll land on the branch and
they'll all cluster around her
for three to five days, as they
send out scouts" looking for
food and a new home.
Pointing to the swarm's
activity at the back of his van,
the bees were "fanning out" to
spread the queen's scent and
enter the box to make sure
she's there, as they clung to
the box and the minivan's
bumper. By capturing the
queen and trimming the
branches many of the others
were on, Anderson said most
of the bees will make the trip.
"You like to get as many as
you can," said Anderson.
"About 95 per cent of them
are in the car now."
Anderson said the swarm
will be taken to one of Lazy
EPCOR resolute to bring nat. gas to SB despite setbacks
Darryl Coote
Reporter
Despite recent setbacks
EPCOR Utilities Inc. is deter-
mined to bring natural gas to
South Bruce.
The Edmonton -based and
municipal -owned utility
reaffirmed its commitment
to bringing natural gas to the
municipalities of Kincardine,
Huron -Kinloss and Arran-
Elderslie June 1, 2016 with its
CEO and president Stuart
Lee visiting Kincardine June.
1, 2016.
The visit follows the recent
publication of a document
claiming Ontario was going
to phase out the use of natu-
ral gas, which if true would
have potentially put an end to
the deal. The document was
also published during an
ongoing generit hearing by
the Ontario Energy Board
(OEB), which is examining
how best to bring the utility to
rural Ontario communities.
"Our position has not
wavered. We're fully com-
mitted," Lee said to media
following a meeting with the
Minister of Energy's parlia-
mentary assistant Bob Dela-
ney, Kincardine deputy
mayor Jacqueline Faubert
and Huron -Kinloss mayor
Mitch Twolan as well as
other local elected officials.
EPCOR was selected by the
municipalities of Kincardine,
Huron -Kinloss and Arran-
Elderslie in 2015 to bring nat-
ural gas to the region with a
HAWK TIIEATRE
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Acting Workshop for kids with
Children's Director Mackenzie Carruthers!
10am-3pm, JUNE 11, 2016 at HAWK Theatre in Lucknow
This years Children's production is going to be HUGE, ithis is a great way to check it out and get a head start on auditions!
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$100 -million project. Then in
late February 2016 the com-
pany signed a franchise agree-
ment with the municipalities.
However, the future of the
project looked uncertain fol-
lowing a report leaked last
month to The Globe and
Mail stating Ontario was
moving to phase out the use
of natural gas to heat homes
and business, which was a
huge driver behind the
nwmo
NUCLEAR WASTE
MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZATION
municipalities pushing to
adopt the utility.
Though the Liberal gov-
ernment has since balked at
this claim and made procla-
mations of its support to
bring natural gas to rural
Ontario, Lee visited Kincar-
dine to reassure the munici-
palities of his company's
commitment to bringing
natural gas to the area.
He admitted that he and
SOCIETE DE GESTION
DES DECHETS
NUCLEAIRES
his board members were
concerned when they read
the report, but it didn't
weaken their commitment
to the project.
Hearing MPP Delaney
Wednesday state natural gas
has a long-term role in
Ontario's energy plan and
earlier from the Minister of
Finance Charles Sousa was
reassuring, he said.
"We've been reassured by
NWMO Learn More Centre
Everyone is welcome.
Drop in and learn more about Adaptive Phased Management
(APM), and ongoing work in the area. APM is Canada's plan for
the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is
working collaboratively with Huron -Kinloss to consider the
project and advance preliminary assessment studies. The
Township of Huron -Kinloss is one of nine communities involved
in this learning process.
J's bee yards for observation,
to ensure they're healthy
and able to reproduce.
"We like to box it for a while
to see if she's laying, or if there
are any obvious diseases in
them or mites," he said.
Asked if he'd be wearing his
beekeeper suit on the drive to
the bees' new home, Anderson
laughed, adding he only had
one sting on the day, "It
depends how angry they are
both Mr. Delaney as well as
Minister Sousa that the govem-
ment clearly believes that natu-
ral gas is a solution long term
for energy for here in Ontario
and we believe that it will be as
well and we're moving forward
on the basis," he said.
This setback follows Union
Gas, a locally based utility,
submitting an application in
July of last year to the DEB to
bring natural gas to the area.
NWMO Learn More Centre (Huron -Kin
46 Queen St., Ripley ON
(across from Lewis Park)
519.386.6711
Wednesdays
Thursdays
Fridays
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
oss