Monday, September 18, 2017

City unleashes beestorm in Kew Gardens

From DNA Info:

Swarming wasps stung several Kew Gardens residents after city workers cut down a tree housing their nest — with city officials telling concerned locals they won't remove the ornery insects because they are "an important part of nature."

The tree, on Kew Gardens Road near 82nd Road near P.S. 99, was removed by the Parks Department on Sept. 7 "due to poor health," after a resident asked the agency to inspect it, the department said.

The nest was left in the stump, with someone placing a traffic cone there with a sign reading, "Danger Bees Ahead.”

The insects, which experts said are yellow jackets, have become aggressive and started attacking passersby, residents said.

The NYPD referred DNAinfo New York to a city website titled "Bees or Wasps Complaint," which noted that the city "does not accept requests to eliminate bees or wasps from residential, commercial, or public property."

Meghan Lalor, a spokeswoman for the Parks Department, confirmed that regulation and noted that "these creatures are an important part of nature, so the City will not destroy them."

22 comments:

JQ LLC said...

It looks like aggressive wasp swarms made the nyc wildlife/urban animal list. (Check out the NYC parks link, it's now gone)

I wonder if these insects would have been properly disposed if this stump was in L.I.C. or even Jackson Heights where gentrification is slowly starting to creep.

(sarc) said...

Rats, mice, and mosquitos are also an important part of the the eco system.

It is quite rare to hear anyone say "save the rats, mice, and mosquitos".

I hope no one would think to pour a pint or two of petrol on the nest, in the late late evening when they are dormant.

The powers that be, all to often, tell us how important politicians and bureaucrats are...

Anonymous said...

Meghan Lalor, a spokeswoman for the Parks Department, confirmed that regulation and noted that "these creatures are an important part of nature, so the City will not destroy them."

Some people have deadly allergies to bee stings - the city is more worried about sugary drinks and plastic bags, but doesn't care that people with allergies could actually die?!

And no one said to destroy them - couldn't they move the hive to a non-residential area?

A Better NYC said...

Buy a can of Raid.

Done.

JQ LLC said...

This happened by rock center and times square not too long ago.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Bee-Swam-Van-Midtown-47th-Street-Fifth-Avenue-Police-Investigation-425984044.html

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/06/28/times-square-swarm-bees/

And you'll never guess what happened-no the city did not leave them there because of their new found habitat, they were removed immediately by pro handlers. The one in Times Square was removed in a half-hour.

The two cities story under de Faustio continues...

Anonymous said...

Yeah...until the city gets a lawsuit for a seriously hurt or dead individual.

Anonymous said...

Buy a can of Raid.

Done.


Are you nuts? They're not waterbugs or cockroaches fleeing to their dark corners - they are aggressive fast flying insects with highly allergic stings.

Anonymous said...

"these creatures are an important part of nature, so the City will not destroy them."

but the tree that contained the hive was fair game?

JQ LLC said...

It’s near analogous to consider that the city is handling the bee problem there the same as it’s dealing with the homeless population in the borough it’s in.

I guess one’s densely tourist populated area is an environmental and health threat is another area’s nature preserve.

https://impunitycity.wordpress.com/2017/09/16/marginal-victims-unit-prowling-is-decriminalized-in-greenpoint-and-a-wasp-swarm-qualify-as-urban-animals-in-kew-gardens/

Anonymous said...

With 99.9% of the world's bees gone let's destroy the few remaining. They need to be professionally relocated not poisoned! Go use cancer-causing chemicals in your own backyard!

Anonymous said...

OMG you people are sick !! Sicker than the idiots running this city !!
Get Raid, Really !?! That's your solution ?? Sure spray toxic chemicals into the environment - that'll kill you faster than a wasp sting even if you're allergic.

The better solution would have been for the city to hire a professional to move the nest which can be done during dormancy over the winter months.

And YES they are important to our environment, though I wouldn't put them in the same class as Rats and Roaches which spread disease.

JQ LLC said...

"The better solution would have been for the city to hire a professional to move the nest which can be done during dormancy over the winter months."

The links I provided above makes your point. They cleared the bees from two tourist areas but adamantly and spitefully refuse to send a handler to Kew Gardens.

The city could do this, but they don't want to and are using a lame excuse to avoid serving the public.

Anonymous said...

Stupid people---Yellojacks aint bees and they serve no purposes in city's !!!
And, They get real nasty this time of year before dyeing.
If the nest is gone it can take 2 weeks for them to abandon the spot.

Anonymous said...

"Sure spray toxic chemicals into the environment

Oh more bullshit.
Pyrethrin the primary for wasps is made from chrysanthemum flowers. It shut them right down on contact. Sprays a blanketing foam from up to 15 and bye bye.
100% non toxic to humans, animals and fish.
Its even used a antibacterial mouthwash.

Fuck Yellow Jacks are WASPS that can sting unlimited times and kill somebody. These bastards head butt you first to "mark" you with a pheromone, signal others THEN come back and attack, possibly with the whole hive. (can kill somebody)

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/wasp-killer/
https://www.hunker.com/12542939/uses-of-chrysanthemum-oil

A Better NYC said...

Very true.

Countless people die every year from Raid inhalation.

Anonymous said...

They're wasps,not bees! Get rid of em!

Anonymous said...

These city workers are really stupid, those are ground WASPS not bees and they killed that tree. This is beneficial ?

Yellow Jacks build hives from tree roots & wood fiber they chew into a paper-like pulp to make a colony of 15,000 to 25,000 cells in late summer.
This already bad situation is going to be 4X much worse next year, there may be 100,000 of them below ground that will get more aggressive as summer ends requiring foraging for additional sugar needed to foster both hibernation and the next generation's queens.

Anonymous said...

Sure spray toxic chemicals into the environment

The city has no problem with spraying malathion in densly populated areas against mosquitoes.
So take your sanctimonious stupidity and shove it.
One single bee sting can kill very quickly if you are allergic to it.
These look like to be yellow jackets, millions times worse.

(sarc) said...

The mass hysteria of the environmentalists, driving Sports Utility Vehicles and dictating to the masses "do as I say, not as I do" ....

Anonymous said...

FIgures you city slickers ain't be knowing difference between wasps and bees

Anonymous said...

Killing them is stupid, but the city sure should be relocating them after destroying their home.

>The two cities story under de Faustio continues...

How can anyone is this boro vote for him?

A Better NYC said...

Again, can of Raid.

Problem solved.