One thing you don’t expect as a homeowner is the possibility of a swarm of bees entering your home and taking residence. While they aren’t necessarily eating your food or using your utilities, these sorts of freeloaders can be a bit bothersome.

Instead of calling an exterminator, a Lawrence man suggests a different method of evacuation due to the decline in honeybee populations.

“I noticed bees in Lawrence were being killed by homeowners and with the steep decline of honeybees, I wanted to help provide a solution to both problems,” says Robert Brooks, who has a doctorate in entomology from University of Kansas and has been working with honeybees for more than 30 years.

A BEELINE FOR BOXES

Brooks is now in his second year of a two-year grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Sustainable Research and Education Program to place swarm rescue boxes in 32 city parks in Lawrence.

“I had a swarm box every square mile of Lawrence’s 35-square miles,” Brooks says. “I caught 26 swarms in 2023 and 23 swarms the year before.”

The boxes in Lawrence’s city parks, which the City of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department is supportive of, are aimed at having bees swarm there instead of between the floorboards or in the siding of Lawrence homes. When Brooks gets to a swarm box and sees bees, they are relocated to rural areas where they can pollinate sunflower or lavender fields and be made available to local beekeepers.

To keep the bees at a safe distance from people visiting the city parks, Brooks places the swarm boxes 12 to 15 feet up in trees. They are checked weekly and once a swarm arrives it is relocated to a double-walled insulated hive.

“I want to make a contribution to providing sanctuary to honeybees,” Brooks says.

He wants to extend the program to other cities, and he has gained approval in Ottawa, a town about 30 miles south of Lawrence.

THE MOST FERAL OF THEM ALL

Where bumble bees and carpenter bees hibernate over the winter, honeybees don’t; they stay active inside their hives. Typically, when temperatures fall below 50 degrees, they’ll cluster together for warmth. Worker bees make sure to protect the queen by placing her in the middle of the cluster. But Kansas winters can get brutally cold, and some bees can’t acclimate as well.

“Most honeybees are not overwintering well with 30 to 80 percent dying each winter in Kansas for various reasons,” Brooks says. “The bees I work with are considered “mostly feral” and can survive the Kansas winters better than honeybees purchased from southern states.”

Winter loss is one cause of honeybee population decline over the years, but there’s been a steady decline since 2006. Honeybees represent an irreplaceable pollinator so researchers across the nation are working to improve populations and Brooks is providing part of the solution. Just in the U.S. honeybees pollinate $15 billion in agricultural products each year including more than 130 types of fruits, nuts and vegetables.

Kansas has seen the highest average colony loss rate between 2015 and 2022, losing one-fifth of state honeybee colonies each season. There are many causes for the decline, including mainly the parasite Varroa mite, which debilitates the overwintering bees. The only permanent solution is to find mite resistance in feral colonies.

The efforts made by passionate individuals like Brooks help to keep the agricultural economy running, one urban square mile at a time.

The next time a swarm of bees enters your home, consider reaching out to Brooks before you call an exterminator. They may not be the best roommates, but they’re vital to the many products they pollinate (plus honey).

Get more information about Brooks and his project at www.brookswildbees.com.

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