A homeowner in Cape Coral found a massive beehive outside her home and tens of thousands of bees.
Cami Kearns, a homeowner who splits her time between Indiana and Florida, was taken by surprise when she returned to her Cape Coral home on Kamal Parkway earlier this week. What awaited her was an unexpected discovery — tens of thousands of European honeybees had built a massive hive just outside her front door.
“I was dumbfounded. I’ve never seen anything like it — ever,” Kearns said, recalling her reaction to the hive's sudden appearance.
Upon further inspection, she noticed that the window screen outside was sticky to the touch, and honey was seeping through.
“I wasn’t here, and I think with no activity, they felt very safe,” Kearns said.
She suspects the bees found the secluded area perfect for their hive-building. The hive itself, which was located near her front entrance, measured about three feet tall and wide.
Matthew Anderson, a local expert from Anderson Bee Removal, confirmed the hive was not unusual in terms of size.
“Colonies can have tens of thousands of bees in them. Sometimes what you see on the outside is only a small part of the hive,” Anderson said. “There’s usually much more inside the structure that you can't see.”
On Tuesday, Anderson will begin the delicate process of removing the hive and relocating the bees. When asked how he plans to collect the bees, Anderson explained the importance of capturing the queen.
“If you have the queen and put her in a little cage, the rest of the bees will follow her,” he said.
While the hive could weigh up to 50 pounds, Anderson said he won’t know the exact weight until he begins the removal process.
For Kearns, this has been quite the learning experience.
“It’s just a learning experience every day,” she said. “I know more about bees now than I ever thought I would or even wanted to know.”