Children flee mass bee swarm

Pre-schoolers and primary school children were rushed into the cover of classrooms when a huge swarm of bees flew over Ahuriri.

The swarm on Thursday left the air above Lollipops Educare centre resembling a storm as it became thick with bees.

Thursday's incident was sparked after a previously unseen nest in a tree near the childcare centre was disturbed by contractors trimming branches.

With the children under cover, Lollipops staff watched as the bees began to move in the direction of Port Ahuriri School.

Outside the school dozens of pupils were waiting to board buses for a trip to a marae.

Lollipops called the school office and told staff there of the incoming bees.

Teachers rounded up pupils and rushed them inside where windows were closed.

Napier City Council was called and they sent two specialist beekeepers.

Within about 20 minutes they had managed to collect and contain about 90 per cent of the swarm by dislodging the part of the nest which contained the queen and placing her in a box below the hive.

"They were amazing to watch," said Lollipops centre supervisor Jessie Leggett. "The kids thought it was very exciting. They were suited up so it was like watching astronauts on the moon."

The swarm was not the first dealt with this spring by the council's environmental officers and beekeepers.

It was the latest in about a dozen across Napier in the past week, a member of the council's environmental team said.

"It is the time of the year," he said. "They are on the move but we can not deal with them until the swarms nest."

The bees at Ahuriri were tested to ensure they were not diseased and taken from the area.