AN elderly sweets vendor and a female security guard on duty at Stella Maris Primary School, Woolford Avenue, were  among persons viciously attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees which  invaded the school compound around 11:00 hrs yesterday.   Two teachers from the school’s Nursery Department were also attacked by the bees but less seriously.   
Pandemonium broke out around 11:00hrs shortly after the mid-morning break, when it was discovered that the women were under attack. Fortunately, the furore was contained to the entrance of the compound and the bees did not converge on the Primary Department although two teachers from the Nursery Department also came under attack.
The women were all rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where they were treated. Fortunately, no child from the school was stung by the bees, but this newspaper learnt that some secondary school students from St. Joseph’s High, who were doing an agricultural project in their compound, also came under attack.
The problem was triggered when a team of men doing landscaping works to the west of the St. Joseph’s High School compound disturbed the nest of bees secluded in a hollow concrete structure beneath the soil. The creatures were disturbed by the bobcat being used to grade and level the land.  
A reliable source informed this newspaper that when the nest was found and checked it had about 85,000 bees, one of the largest ever catch at any one point locally.
Persons in the area recalled that shortly after the school children had returned to their classrooms, they heard screams coming from the tuck-shop and guard hut outside the school. When they looked around they saw the septuagenarian sweets vendor, known as ‘Auntie Pat’, partially covered by a swarm of bees.  
Looking across to the guard hut, they saw the female security guard, stumbling and screaming for her life.  More than 100 bees had descended on her and had literally covered her wig, while dozens more took to her face, shoulders, and hands.
She was screaming and brushing and hitting at the bees frantically, but this response only infuriated them and they stung her like mad, witnesses said.
The headmistress and staff were immediately alerted and they in turn contacted the Department of Education, informing them about the problem and seeking guidance.  
The staff at the school also quickly contacted the headmistress of St. Joseph’s High to the east of their compound and alerted them of the problem. But at the same time, some of the agricultural students were being hotly pursued by the bees and were running for their lives.
The Department of Education contacted the Ministry of Agriculture who in turn contacted the relevant bee keeping and control authorities and the parties hastily visited the scene.
Persons on the scene credited the staff at Stella Maris for the manner in which they responded to the crisis and were able to keep the approximate 700 children in the school calm and not attempting to take flight, as this would have compounded the problem, resulting in mass casualties.
However, the Nursery Department had to be evacuated and the pupils were temporarily housed in the library, while the sweets vendor and the security guard were rescued and kept at the headmistress’s office until they were taken to hospital.
The headmistress, on the advice of the Ministry of Education, dismissed school at 12:00hrs (noon) so as to keep the students out of harm’s way.
Meanwhile, the security guard on her return from hospital returned to her base and even though experiencing severe pain, opted to remain on the job until she was relieved. Her face and hands were swollen and she said that her entire face and neck were feeling hot and stiff.
Commenting on the situation, a parent who had witnessed the incident recalled that it was really a serious attack. “That vendor is fortunate to be alive.  I saw the attack and I can tell you, ‘death stared her in the face and walked away’. God has kept her alive for some special reason,” the parent said.

QUEEN CAUGHT
This newspaper visited the area aback of St. Joseph’s High School compound where the bees’ hive was discovered and spoke with the men at work who were trapping the bees.
Mr. Linden Stewart, President of the Guyana Aviary Culture Society and representative of the Kingdom Aviary Bees and Supplies said that he was alerted to the emergency by the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and hastened down there.
He mentioned the excavation works being done by St. Joseph’s High School and explained that the operator, who was unaware, hit the hive and disturbed the bees, which launched a retaliatory attack.  
“After their reservoir was disturbed they came out to defend their hive,” he said, adding that once out of the hive, they travelled over to St. Joseph’s and Stella Maris and stung the vendors out there and two teachers in the compound.  
He said even though teachers were stung, the staff did an incredible job of preparing the children to be calm and in fact putting the children first. However, he advised that the children be sent home and then he proceeded to work.

IMPORTANCE OF BEES
Stewart cautioned:  These bees are very important to us. Without them, we cannot have adequate food supplies because they have to pollinate the trees that are blossoming so that we can get food. One third of the food we eat every day depends on these bees to pollinate.”
 Stewart said the bees are unaggressive when not disturbed but being very territorial, when disturbed all they can do is move to defend their territory.  “They defend their queen and their home. That’s all they’re doing,” he said. He estimates that the bees would have been living in that compound for no less than one year.