Greens Vendors Arcade gets Africanized bee scare

Africanized bees, yesterday, created quite a scare among shoppers and vegetable vendors in the Greens Vendors Arcade outside of John Fernandes Shipping on Water Street, in downtown Georgetown.

About 14:30hrs, an alarm was raised that bees were around, sending vendors and shoppers diving for cover. Vendors who ply their trade in the area said they were alarmed when it was discovered that a swarm of more that 300 bees had invaded and set up their nest on a  hand cart from where a vendor sells her produce.
Terrified, Monica Surooj, who made the discovery, said that her sister Bernadette, called Kowsilla, had put out the cart on the pavement leading to the Shipping Office and proceeded elsewhere on business.  She said no one recalled seeing the bees come by but around 14:30hrs when she approached the mobile stand, it was swarmed by the Africanized bees.
As word spread, traffic in the area leading to the wharf was temporarily disrupted and officials of the Kingdom Apiary Society were summoned. President of Kingdom Apiary, Mr. Linden Stewart and another staff member visited the scene and took control. They caught the queen bee, clipped her wings and placed her in a box.    Then the queen released a substance which attracted the workers to her and harnessed by Stewart, they all voluntarily made their way into the box.
A lot of the terrified persons at the scene were of the view that the bees are dangerous, a nuisance and should be killed. However, the experts cautioned against doing so, stating that honey bees are not to be destroyed since they are important to humans and as pollinators they play a key role in the production of crops – fruits and vegetables, among other things, which are so important to the human diet.
And earlier in the week bees invaded Stella Maris Primary and Nursery School compound after their hive was disrupted at the back of St. Joseph’s High School compound on Woolford Avenue.  At least four women were badly stung – a security guard; a sweets vendor and two nursery teachers.

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