Fallen Tree, Swarming Bees

A Downed Oak in Gulfport Uncovers Hidden Beehive

By Abby Baker

When a hollow tree crashed onto the Gulfport property of Micheal Fedele and Will Childers, there were luckily no injuries or major damage – but the beehive living in the tree’s branches wasn’t so lucky.

It was late night on Saturday, July 24 when the tree fell partially on the yard at 24th Avenue South and into the street.

On Sunday, the City of Gulfport sliced the oak into removable bits and moved the wood out of the road. It was then that workers discovered a disturbed bees’ nest, shaken and partially destroyed from a collision with the ground.

“Talk about a swarm,” Fedele said on Monday. “The bees were really very agitated; they’ve calmed down now.”

The insect hive is currently in limbo, calmed temporarily while awaiting a beekeeper to remove the nest from the large branch it’s connected to.

“I hope that I can get some of the honeycomb,” Fedele said.

On Tuesday, a timeline for the hive extraction was still unclear, or whether the bees will be peacefully removed or require extermination.