Bees find new home after swarming at Bridgeport Village in Tigard

bee swarm at Bridgeport Vilalge

Bees swarm around their queen on a tree in the parking lot of Bridgeport Village in Tigard. A beekeeper was able to capture the swarm and move them into a man-made hive.Photo courtesy of Chad Hastings, Bridgeport Village

Thousands of bees swarmed a tree at Bridgeport Village shopping mall in Tigard earlier this week, forcing the mall’s manager to make a decision that could mean life or death for the vulnerable insects.

With customers walking around, General Manager Chad Hastings had to figure out what to do with the swarm. He could have called an exterminator, but Hastings wanted to save them.

“I know what a precious resource bees are to our area and the world,” Hastings said. “I’ve heard bee populations are dying and I wanted to protect them.”

Hastings said he was fascinated by the swarm. In a video he took, the yellowish brown pulsing mass of bees crawl over one another, clumped around the tree’s branch.

Customers were curious and peeked through their car windows in the parking lot while they drove by, Hastings said. He said he wasn’t afraid of the bees.

“They could care less that I was there,” Hastings said.

Hastings used a bee removal website that lists beekeepers who remove hives and swarms to find help. He called 13 different people before someone picked up the phone and connected him with Tess Darrow.

Darrow has been a beekeeper for four years, and had been looking for a swarm ever since her hive of bees died over the winter.

She was at work — she owns the Egg Press greeting card company — when she got a text from a friend that Hastings had a swarm. Darrow didn’t have her equipment with her, so she grabbed a cardboard box and a hunk of fabric from work and drove to Bridgeport Village.

When Darrow arrived, she said the swarm was the size of a basketball. She estimated the swarm had somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 bees.

The bees are typically docile when they swarm, Darrow said. She said they swarm when a hive creates a new queen. The old queen will take part of the population with her and swarm while bees scope out new spots for a hive.

Using a broom, Darrow swept the bees into her cardboard box. Capturing most of the bees, she placed the box on the ground and put her sheet over it, leaving a small opening for the rest of the bees to swarm to the queen.

Darrow was stung only once in the face while she captured the swarm. No one else was stung.

After half an hour, Darrow said all but around 15 bees had made their way into the box. She wrapped the box in the fabric, put the box in her car and drove home.

With the help of her son, Darrow said she got the bees into her top bar bee hive. She said her neighbors are serious gardeners and have told her their harvest has increased since she started beekeeping.

The bees are becoming acclimated to their new home. Darrow said they’re doing what they’re supposed to do and she’ll check on them in a few days to see if she needs to expand the hive.

If you encounter a swarm of bees, Linda Riedman, a spokeswoman for Bridgeport Village, offered a few tips. She said to stay calm because the bees are not looking to harm anyone. They’re protecting the queen while other bees search for a new home.

Riedman said to remember bees pollinate crops and are a critical part of our food chain, so they shouldn’t be harmed. She said beekeepers at either Bee Removal Source or Bee Control Northwest will remove swarms for free.

-- Peter Talbot

ptalbot@oregonian.com

503-221-5772; @petejtalbot

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