Windy weather reveals sweet surprise inside toppled tree
The windy weekend revealed a sweet surprise at a home in Portage la Prairie, and it’s got one beekeeper buzzing.
Intense winds across southern Manitoba gusted upwards of 90 kilometres Monday, knocking out power and toppling trees.
It was amid these severe winds that Donald Kitson, a beekeeper for the past 50 years, got a strange call Monday from a homeowner in Portage la Prairie.
A downed tree in Portage la Prairie on Sept. 30, 2024, contained a sweet surprise. (Source: Sheldon Hordeski)
“The wind had brought their tree down, and they phoned me up, and I said, ‘Okay, I'll take a look at it,’” Kitson told CTV News.
But why call a beekeeper for a downed tree? Because, Kitson said, between 5,000 and 6,000 honeybees had made themselves at home inside it.
A downed tree in Portage la Prairie on Sept. 30, 2024, contained a sweet surprise. (Source: Sheldon Hordeski)
“It's actually the first time I've ever done one like this. Yeah, it's an intact hive inside that tree,” he said, estimating the hive is likely about four months old. “They had a nice little unit in there.”
When the wind snapped the tree, it revealed the honeycombs nestled inside. Kitson said the hive is mostly unharmed by the storm.
A downed tree in Portage la Prairie on Sept. 30, 2024, contained a sweet surprise. (Source: Sheldon Hordeski)
He will be heading to the home Tuesday evening and will be carefully cutting the combs out of the tree. He plans to resettle the honeybee colony inside a hive box, where they can settle in for winter.
“There seems to be enough there that hopefully they will make it through the winter,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Feds move to end port strikes, order binding arbitration
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon says he is intervening to end the work stoppages at ports in both British Columbia and Montreal.
Canadian Union of Postal Workers issues 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has given a 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post.
'He begged me': Brampton, Ont. woman loses more than $200K to romance scam
A Brampton woman says she is devastated after she lost more than $200,000 — her life's savings — to a romance scam.
Driver rams his car into crowd in China, killing 35. Police say he was upset about his divorce
A man who authorities said was upset over his divorce settlement rammed his car into a crowd of people exercising at a sports complex in southern China, killing 35 and severely injuring dozens of others, police said Tuesday.
Federal judge blocks Louisiana law that requires classrooms to display Ten Commandments
A new Louisiana requirement that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public classroom by Jan. 1 was temporarily blocked Tuesday by a federal judge who said the law is 'unconstitutional on its face.'
Ottawa high school principal apologizes for song played during Remembrance Day assembly
The principal of an Ottawa high school is apologizing to students, parents and guardians after an Arabic-language song was played during the school's Remembrance Day service.
Church of England head Justin Welby resigns over handling of sex abuse scandal
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.
Earth's biggest polluters aren't sending leaders to UN climate talks in a year of weather extremes
World leaders are converging Tuesday at the United Nations annual climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan although the big names and powerful countries are noticeably absent, unlike past climate talks which had the star power of a soccer World Cup.
Trump picks Kristi Noem to serve as his Homeland Security secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has selected South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, according to two people familiar with the selection.