Two fallen trees, two swarms of bees in Winnipeg dog park

A pair of trees has recently been blown over by the wind at Maple Grove Dog Park in Winnipeg, and two beehives were uncovered in the stumps left rooted in the ground.

Lorne Volk, a volunteer who helps take care of the park, said the first tree fell a few weeks ago when there was a big windstorm.

He said he was cleaning up some of the smaller branches around the fallen tree when someone pointed out the bees swarming the stump.

“I looked over, and the stump was torn open, and there was a great big hive there, all gathered around her queen, trying to keep her sheltered and warm,” he said.

Volk flagged the hive so people at the park with allergies would notice it, and contacted a local apiary about the hive to see if it could be moved.

“You don't like to see the poor little bees done up by that ridiculous wind,” he said.

The next day Volk said the bees were mostly gone. He doesn’t know if someone came to get them, or if they left on their own accord. But just when he thought his beehive encounter was over, he got a message from someone on Sunday.

“That big burst of wind we got, another tree had come down with an even bigger colony in it,” he said. “I presume the two colonies are related to each other. They're quite close together.”

He said he flagged that hive too and called the same apiary again, but at last check, the second hive was still there.

Volk said the two fallen trees are blocking an intersection of six walking trails in the park and he is waiting for city crews to finish cleanup.

“That's our biggest intersection of trails in the park, and it happened during the day. People heard it happen,” said Volk.

“I'm wondering what we need to say to people about high wind because a lot of our trees are quite elderly.”