SHARON – The town beach on Mudge Pond closed on Wednesday, July 15, but the cause wasn’t the smoky haze drifting in from Canadian wildfires – it was angry bees.
According to Sharon’s Parks and Recreation Director Bryan Failla, a large limb fell from an old tree near the lifeguard stand overnight, exposing a hole that houses a large beehive. He said the town made the decision to close the beach Wednesday morning “out of an abundance of caution.”
He said that when he went to the beach in the morning, the bees were understandably riled up. “If your home got destroyed you’d be a little agitated as well,” he said.
The town has been aware of the hive in the tree for a long time, Failla said, but it hasn’t caused any concern for safety previously. With it now exposed, he said the time has come for a relocation for the sake of the bees and beachgoers alike.
Mike’s Beehives, an apiary and beekeeping supply store in Goshen, will be handling the operation “first thing tomorrow,” Failla said, with the aim being to safely relocate the hive with as little disturbance to the bees as possible.
Failla said he’s hopeful that the beach will be able to reopen Thursday by 10 a.m., its normal opening time, but noted that delays are possible based on how long the extraction takes.
Ed Bahr, who owns the business, said he frequently performs similar relocations across the state. He said the first step is to remove the bees safely, then take care of the comb, which contains the larva, eggs and honey stores. “It’s basically the furniture of their house,” he said.
He said he will take the bees and their comb back to the Goshen apiary, where he has about 60 other hives. He said it’s important to keep the bees fed and cared for throughout the relocation process, because “you do not want to kill honeybees – that’s not good.”
He promised the bees will be happy in their new home. “We’ll just bring them to a new neighborhood, take care of them and keep them good and happy,” he said.
