A Terrace, B.C., beekeeper found herself in a nightmare situation late last month when "thousands and thousands of bees" filled her shop.
Call it an attempted robbery — the bees were trying to steal sweet, sweet honey.
Christine McDonald, owner of Rushing River Apiaries, said it's the first time desperate "robber bees" — bees that try to take honey from another colony's hive — have descended upon her indoor shop to hunt for food as resources get scarce in the late summer.
While she's worked with bees for years and said she's very comfortable around them, this situation had her frightened.
"I think that's the most panicked I have felt.…There's thousands of bees, I don't know where they're coming from, and I need to protect all of the honey."
Rushing River Apiaries in Terrace, B.C., was briefly set upon by thousands of 'robber bees' trying to find food in the late summer. (Submitted by Christine McDonald)
The multitudinous bees had found their way in through cracks in the shop's older bay door.
When a bee finds a good food source, it returns to the hive and does a "waggle dance" to tell other bees where the food is, McDonald said.
After throwing tarps and lids over the equipment and products, and managing to save most of it, McDonald said she ended up "sacrificing her bathroom" to trap the invading bees: she left the light on, and lured the bees to the light where she could collect and then release them.
But it took four or five days until the bees stopped trying to return.
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