Cracks in the Ceiling? Bee Sweet to Houseguests!

Image Collage: Bees’ Home Office
Image Credits/Sources (From Left to Right): Honey Dripping through Cracks in Ceiling & Varney, Ontario Homeowners: WILLY WATERTON /QMI AGENCY,
Microsoft Office Clipart: Bees & Honeycomb
2012 @ wobuilt

Here’s a different take on living in harmony with nature. Is the latest "home invasion" by bees Mother Nature’s way of telling us we need to rekindle a deep reverence for the Queens of the Sun?

The latest incident of home invasion by bees is being touted online as a "horror story" for a Varney, Ontario couple. Two hives. Up to 180,000 bees. Approximately 2,000 pounds of honeycomb, dripping with honey right through growing cracks in the ceiling. A nest of yellow-jackets thrown in for good measure.

David Schuit, an Elmwood, Ontario beekeeper and his helpers were planning on taking down the ceiling in the living room and kitchen on Monday and removing the hives and honeycombs. Schuit exclaimed: "It’s really amazing. Bees are fascinating."

So, a sticky situation that was easily four years in the making, which could have ended much worse, seems well on its way to a finding a sweet resolution. All’s well that ends well. Get the whole story at cnews.

Like so many such stories, this one will buzz its way around the ‘Net, Twitterverse and inboxes for a while before vanishing into popular-consciousness oblivion. In six months’ time, it will at best be recalled as an urban legend.

This is the real "horror" of the story. Bee colonies are collapsing around the world. From fatal parasite infestations and disease epidemics to over-use of toxic pesticides and GMO crops, the very existence of nature’s most critical pollinating creature is in jeopardy. The "Queens of the Sun" are facing dark skies ahead, indeed.

It doesn’t help that our monoculture agricultural practices see tens of thousands of bee colonies shipped from one end of North America to the other each and every year to pollinate immense crop fields. This practice not only puts tremendous stress on individual hives, but allow for intermingling of colonies that would otherwise be separated from one another by tens of thousands of miles. The result? Contagions and parasites once contained to specific geographic locations infect colonies across the continent in one convenient step (thanks to human beings).

Maybe by bunking with humans, the bees are trying to tell us something. Maybe it’s because they know humans won’t be throwing their own home on the back of a flat-bed truck to drive thousands of miles. Maybe it’s because they know some humans are smart enough not to spray high concentrations of toxic substances in their house.

In other words, maybe the bees are trying to express how they like the same things we like: brightly coloured sweet smelling flowers; safety and security for their family; the chance to live and work in peace and harmony; freedom from tyranny and slavery. They’re reminding us our ancestors used to revere and respect them as sacred.

Are we saying you need to invite bees into your home? It’s not that far-fetched an idea. New Yorkers recently fought for their right to keep bees in the city. Even the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto has its own rooftop hives. With Peapod Life indoor ecosystems, there is definitely an opportunity to include nature’s most precious pollinators.

For more information on hive collapse syndrome, the importance of local permaculture and how to "bee sweet," for the sake of all creatures, we recommend the excellent, award-winning documentary, Queen of the Sun.


Attila Lendvai
VP of Strategic Development
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

youtube.com: Queen of The Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? - Official Trailer [HD]
QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us? is a profound,
alternative look at the global bee crisis from Taggart Siegel,
director of THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN.
Official Film Website: http://www.queenofthesun.com
Uploaded by Collectiveeye on Feb 11, 2011

Find related articles and links:
cnews.canoe.ca: 180,000 bees invade Ontario home
Honey dropping from the ceiling
By Scott Dunn, QMI Agency July 29, 2012

owensoundsuntimes.com: news local: Invasion of the honey bees
By Scott Dunn, Sun Times, Owen Sound July 29, 2012

intelligencer.ca: News Ontario: Honey pit: Ontario house a honey pit
by scott.dunn@sunmedia.ca July 29, 2012

globalpost.com: Honeybee house anything but a home sweet home
Canadian woman finds 180,000 bees, 2,000 pounds of honey in attic.
by David Trifunov July 30, 2012

ctvnews.ca: 80,000 bees found inside Ontario home
80,000 bees, 100 kg of honey, found inside Varney, Ont. home
The Canadian Press, July 30, 2012 + 18 Comments