Beekeeper Wants Douglaston Residents to Call Her About Swarms

A is calling on northeast Queens residents to contact her - and not the exterminator - if they spot the insects swarming in the neighborhood.

Ruth Harrigan, who works for a Manhattan investment firm and owns several hives containing more than 10,000 bees, said 2012's unusually warm weather has resulted in a number of swarming bees in Douglaston.

"The winter was so mild this year that the queen bee started laying much earlier than normal," she said. "Normally, she might start in March, but this year she began around January or February. This year, the hives are overcrowded, so bees are swarming. It's good because this is how they proliferate."

But Harrigan said she was recently called after a swarm of bees was spotted near on Northern Boulevard.

"It startled everyone because they were circling," she said of the bees. "If the swarm should land near the schoolyard, I'm asking that people contact me. Often, people are quick to call an exterminator to kill them, but I can quickly extract them to put in a new hive."

Harrigan said beekeepers typically keep an eye out for signs of a swarm because bees will often leave an overcrowded hive.

"Economically, it's not good because you could lose half your bees," she said. "I split mine by fooling the queen bee and moving her to a new hive. Not only did I not lose my bees, but I got two hives out of one."

Harrigan can be contacted by phone at 212-675-0101 or via email at dancingqueenhoney@gmail.com.