The queen’s jubilee swarms Excelsior Springs home

Teagan Johnson was in for a surprise when she walked outside to retrieve her iPod from her mother’s car Tuesday afternoon.  The 12-year-old never made it past the front door.

“I went outside and I heard this loud roar,” she said, referring to the tens of thousands of bees that had gathered outside her front door.  “I went in and told my Mom and she made me come back inside because I am really allergic to bees.”

BJ, Teagan’s mother, went outside to check on the situation and, with little fear,
decided to start taking pictures.

“You could see them, it was like a black cloud over the top of the house,” she explained. “They gathered and then swarmed over to a tree, then eventually landed on the side of the house on a cherry tree.”

The bees, in a giant cluster, moved from the front of the house to a nearby tree in the front yard before gathering near the side of the home on 92 Highway.  It was the sound of the Johnson’s dogs barking that convinced them to call the police.

“I heard the dogs barking and moved them out of harms way, so that the bees wouldn’t get to them, then I went inside to call the police department,” Johnson said.  Soon thereafter the Excelsior Springs Police dispatcher knew to call a beekeeper to corral the massive amount of bees.

Within minutes Jonathan Eisenbrandt, a resident of Excelsior Springs and bee enthusiast was at the Johnson’s home to gather the bees.  Eisenbrandt began his beekeeping hobby a few years ago and said that he gathers the bees and keeps them on a friend’s property just outside of town.

“Bees are in decline, so I’m glad she didn’t call an exterminator,” Eisenbrandt said.  The beekeeper then donned his safety beekeeping veil to remove the swarm.  Little by little he worked at removing small clusters from the tree until he could locate the queen bee.

“If you can capture the queen, then the rest will follow,” he explained.

For more on this story, see the print edition or e-Edition of the Friday, June 8, Standard.

By Jae Juarez • jae@leaderpress.com

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