By KIM CALVERT Special to the Daily Press
THIRD STREET — A swarm of bees in a small tree in the 1400 block of Third Street Promenade resulted in a portion of the area being closed down on Monday while the Santa Monica Fire Department hosed the insects with a mixture of water and foam.
“The foam coats the wings of the bees, making it impossible for them to fly,” said Santa Monica Fire Battalion Chief Carl Bjerke, who was at the scene.
Bjerke said the bees, which fell to the base of the tree, would most likely die and until then, the area would be roped off with yellow tape.
Los Angeles County Vector Control also was at the scene to see if any of the bees were “africanized.” Vector Control is in charge of handling the county’s encephalitis, Lyme disease, Africanized honeybees, and other vector-borne diseases and vector related problems.
Bjerke said he doubted the bees were africanized, but given the public scare about “killer bees” it was normal procedure to test bees that exhibited unusual behavior or caused public complaints.
Fire Chief Jim Hone said bee swarms frequently happen in the spring when a new queen bee is hatched in an existing hive and must leave to establish her own hive. Other bees follow the new queen, resulting in a swarm at a new location.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 22, 2005. Read the original PDF.