Hey, that's interesting... West 113th St, and the
Butler Library at Columbia U is just to the North,
the article said?
Well, I was speaking at Columbia just last week about
non-bee subjects, and afterwards, I was asked to look
at a Columbia U staff residence just a few blocks away
from 113th. I was shown, judging from the sorties
per minute, a very large colony that had set up shop
in the hollow area between the layers of brick of the
double-walled brick building 4 stories up.
In the photo
http://bee-quick.com/columbia_u.gif
one can see unsuccessful attempts to patch the openings
in the mortar and thereby starve the hive to death.
(Not surprisingly, the bees found altenate entrances -
the mortar is riddled with bee-sized holes.)
They wanted the bees out, but not killed. They care.
They have a resident who claims the usual
life-threatening "allergy" to bees, yet carries
no Epi-Pen. I was asked to subcontract under
their pest control company to cover licensing
and insurance issues.
I explained that the job would be anything but cheap,
moreso given that this was a "historic structure"
demanding care in the removal and replacement of the
brick to get the combs out, and would cost even more
if I had to go in from the outside, rather than out
from inside, as "height + bees = risk". They offered
me a very nice fee.
But this observation by Peter poses an ethical dilemma.
I wonder if Mr. Graves and Ms. Goodman still have a
hive on 113th. I know that Graves still sells lots
and lots of "New York City Honey" every weekend at
the farmers markets at prices you would not believe,
so if he is truthfully labeling the honey as to its
origin, perhaps these are his bees, and he'd like
them returned.
On the other hand, perhaps Columbia would want to
recover their costs by back-billing my fees to
Graves & Goodman for negligently letting a hive swarm
in the middle of a city where beekeeping is not strictly
legal, even though Graves sells so much "New York City
Honey", he either has dozens of hives spread across
the city, or misleads his customers.
Columbia is my client in this little project.
Their check already cleared.
If I say nothing, I may get many more fun and exciting
high-altitude colonies that need removing in the future.
If I say something, I'd expose Graves and Goodman
to regulatory problems, and perhaps the wrath of
Columbia U.
Suggestions? I'm inclined to remove the hive, and
not speculate as to the possible source of the bees.
******************************************************
* Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm *
******************************************************
|