Bee ‘cause we Care
Chris Lesperance from Abell Pest Control received a call from a homeowner that a honey bee swarm had taken up residence in his backyard. A honey bee swarm is a natural occurrence. When a healthy bee colony gets too big, one half breaks away in search of a new home. Understandably, this can be quite alarming for any member of the public.
Chris, an amateur beekeeper himself, visited the property with his team and re-located the bee swarm, which now resides with a local bee-keeper. Everyone was happy, including the bees.
This got us thinking. As pest control professionals, we know a lot about insects. While we’re often charged with controlling insects that pose potential risks to humans, we’re also highly educated and fascinated with the ones that are beneficial to the public. There are many pollinating insects, but few are as important as honey bees and wild bees which are responsible for 70% of pollination.
With honeybee populations on the decline worldwide, we started asking ourselves, what can we do to help? After all, we are insect experts. Our goals are to:
- Fund and promote research;
- Promote greater awareness of declining bee populations;
- Directly engage Abell employees in the effort to help increase bee populations!
Relocating Bee Swarms
Abell Pest Control routinely coordinates honey bee swarm relocations to protect both public safety and honey bees.
We aim to connect beekeepers with people who have a bee swarm on their property to safely and humanely remove them. We’ll even help cover the cost to ensure bee colonies are moved safely rather than harmed. We have a lot of great information and success stories that we’d like to share as part of our Bee ‘cause We Care program.
World Honey Bee Day August 20, 2022
Last year, Abell celebrated the launch of “abellsavesbees.com” by distributing 504 jars of honey to all Abell employees. The honey was made at the University of Guelph’s Honey Bee Research Facility.
Stay tuned for what we have planned for this year’s celebrations!
Abell Scholarship Program
To help advance the science and understanding of honey bees, Abell is committing $25,000 over 5 years towards a scholarship at the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Sciences Honey Bee Research Centre.