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OREM — What do you do when your backyard is invaded by thousands of unwanted buzzing guests? You do what a Utah County family did and call in a man whose history with hives dates back to Utah's pioneers.
Orem resident Paul Meyers was recently alerted to a huge swarm of bees in his backyard by his son.
This is kinda cool. Let's go take a picture of what it looks like and see if we can record the sound.
–Paul Meyers, Orem homeowner
"He said, ‘Look over there, dad.' I said, ‘I don't see anything.' He said, ‘Look again,'" Meyers recalled.
As a famous broadcaster once said, "that escalated quickly." It turns out a queen bee, and presumably the rest of her hive, was on the move, looking for a new home. They found one on a tree branch at Meyers' home.
Upon their discovery, Meyers quickly obeyed the first rule you learn in journalism school. He told his family, "This is kinda cool. Let's go take a picture of what it looks like and see if we can record the sound."
And he did.
"People mostly are just fascinated by a swarm," said beekeeper Shaun Heaton, and he should know. He has been a beekeeper for, well, practically his entire life. In fact, you could say it's in his blood.
"My great-great-grandmother brought bees over with the Brigham Young pioneers," Heaton explained.
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When Matt Key's son came home from school Monday afternoon, he had some interesting news: A swarm of bees had decided to take up residence on the family car.So, when Meyers called him to help with the little bee problem he was having, Heaton knew what to do.
"I've seen them as small as a softball size, and I've seen them as much as, say, three or four or five basketball sizes," Heaton said.
After quick assessment, he came up with the strategy. Meyers kept the camera rolling as Heaton got the queen into a manmade hive, and the rest of the swarm followed.
While unique for Meyers and his family, it's an experience Heaton has seen a time or two. "It's very much an interesting spectacle of nature," he said.
The event was equally as interesting for Meyers. "They were as docile as little puppies," he said.
Heaton says it is the time of the year when we see a handful of these groups of bees begin moving around like this. While he handles about five to 10 such swarms per year, he says the migrating season is almost over.
