>>...the mark of a rank amateur.
Everyone was an amateur at one point... why pick on the officer? I give lots of credit to the NYPD for getting an officer trained in bee handling.
>>Another clue was that he wore a full bee suit...
In the attached photo the veil is off though. :)
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:V-shOPX1NyoJ:www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp%3Fstid%3D1%26aid%3D82056+honey+bee+swarm+Bronx&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us
So does that make the officer a pro now? Hardly. You can get a swarm of AHB up north, too. AHB can be defensive even in a swarm cluster.
Also, this could have been a colony in the wall and the bees may have been a bee beard around the entrance. Police are trained not to take unnecessary chances on the beat and they should take proper precautions with what is perceived as docile swarms.
>>...no attempt made to do any "public relations" and/or reassure the civilians that the bees were not a public safety issue.
Didn't you don a veil for the Fox News camera recently? That surely did not send a reassuring message to the uninformed public. :o)
>>I played nice for the TV camera... but what I was thinking was "What a buffoon this guy was to make such a sloppy job..."
Sounds like hypocrisy to me. What I was thinking as I read the story: ''What if this swarm had issued from a nearby managed hive in the Bronx Zoo? I hope a beekeeper negligent in swarm prevetion/control did not cause the unsuspecting public unnecessary alarm...'' Would harm good public relations. It would be interesting to ask officer Palankas if there was a marked queen... :))
Waldemar
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