30,000 bees swarm Sparks Street, break tree branch
Colony to be captured and relocated, BIA says
A swarm of 30,000 bees split from a hive on the roof of a downtown Ottawa office building Tuesday and moved into a tree on Sparks Street.
According to the Sparks Street BIA, the bees are part of a colony that lives in hives on top of 181 Queen Street, the office building that houses the CBC.
Kevin McHale, executive director of Sparks Street BIA, told Radio-Canada that Morguard, the real estate company that owns the building, called a beekeeper to get the situation under control.
McHale said the colony, estimated by the beekeeper to be about 30,000 strong, was so heavy the bees broke a branch off the tree in which they had taken up temporary residence.
Although the colony piqued the attention of numerous passersby, no injuries were reported and the BIA received no complaints.
The beekeeper installed a box near the tree with the intention of capturing and relocating the bees, McHale said.