Couple Find 30,000 Bees In Cape May Attic

A couple from Cape May, NJ have discovered a startling 30,000 bees hiding in their attic – complete with a huge wax honeycomb and hive.

Victoria Clayton and boyfriend Richard White live in a former bed-and-breakfast on Washington Street that dates from 1866. After noticing an unusually high number of honeybees in their lush garden, not to mention streams of bees heading toward a third-floor laundry vent, the couple decided to investigate.

That’s when they discovered their visitors hiding in the attic. Last Thursday, a bee expert spent much of the day removing the honeycomb and 30,000 of the buzzing creatures from the attic of the property. There may have been a severe drop in worldwide honeybee populations in recent years, but this was a thriving group.

Victoria and Richard decided to have their fuzzy, buzzy lodgers moved to a new home after they read that honeybees are the “good” bees that pollinate many of the world’s food crops.

Experts have previously suggested that between 50 and 90 percent of the world’s feral honeybee population has disappeared, with numerous factors blamed for their decline, including decades of urbanization, pesticides, and parasitic mites.

Of her bee infestation, Clayton said:

“This old house just seems to attract wildlife, so it’s good that I really love animals.”

The 52-year-old added that her property is regularly visited by raccoons and possums, as well as hundreds of tiny black birds, known colloquially as “chimney sweeps” – that are drawn to her house at dusk, then head down her dormant brick chimney to roost overnight.

[Via Philly.com]