Relax! Loop Honeybee Cluster Is Just A Non-Aggressive Royal Escort
(CBS) -- Commuters walking across the Jackson Street Bridge have spent the past few days dodging bees near a bridge house.
In the heat of the day, the honeybees that have swarmed into an eight-inch-by-eight-inch shape tend to fly around the Jackson Street Bridge.
And that doesn't sit well with some people.
"I don't want 'em. I'll cross the street," one pedestrian says.
But others -- like beekeeper Mark Hildebrand -- say the bees on the bridge house are no big deal.
"I noticed them three days ago at noon. When the temperature heats up, they start to cool off by flying around the sidewalk," he says.
Hildebrand says people shouldn't be worried by the pulsating mass of at least 500 bees.
"This is swarming. The hive is actually splitting up, and somewhere in that clump of bees is a queen. Eventually they'll go somewhere and establish a new hive."
He adds: "But while they're swarming they're very, very docile. They won't attack."
The real question, Hildebrand says, is: Can they find a home before the winter? For now, they're just minding their own beeswax.
