back to article Viscous liquid oozing down the walls? You must have hives

Pest control was called to Rockwood Hospital, Cardiff after elderly patients noticed honey oozing from the ceiling and dripping down the walls. More than 110,000 bees spread over two colonies were found lodged in opposite sides of the hospital roof. Health workers used towels to soak up the honey pool on the floor before The …

  1. Alister

    The bees will be carted off to West Lancashire

    But, but, these are Welsh bees, from Cardiff, you can't just uproot them to Lancashire, they won't know the language!

    1. Steve Evans

      You have to move bees a minimum of several miles, or they'll know where they are when you release them, and head straight back to where they came from.

      So if you want to move bees 200m down the road you have to take them several miles away first, leave them there for a couple of weeks, then move them back to where you actually want them.

      Fascinating little creatures.

      (Sorry, being far too factual, I'll go get a coffee).

      1. Fred Fallacy

        I appreciate you beeing far too factual

        no text.

      2. stucs201

        re: and head straight back to where they came from

        Do they announce their arrival with "Honey, I'm home!"?

        1. stucs201

          Re: re: and head straight back to where they came from

          Also shouldn't it be "make a bee-line for", not "head straight back to"?

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        That is a fascinating fact. Thank you..

      4. Pompous Git Silver badge

        You have to move bees a minimum of several miles, or they'll know where they are when you release them, and head straight back to where they came from.

        There is no place like comb sweet comb.

      5. waldo kitty
        Boffin

        the rule of thumb is "two feet or two miles"...

        to move the box five feet, move it one or two feet at the time over a period of several days/weeks so the bees will follow it... or you could take the short cut and move them 2+ miles for several days/weeks and then back to where you really want them as you originally suggested...

        we always moved them about two feet at a time and yes, it takes a while...

    2. TitterYeNot
      Coat

      "you can't just uproot them to Lancashire, they won't know the language!"

      They'll be fine, they'll learn to buzz "thee's t'wrong side of t'Pennines lad" in no time at all...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @Titter YeNot - or getting into fights 'Call those things 'ills? Back when I were a young'un, we 'ad proper 'ills, boyo, not like these tiny little bumps round 'yere...'

    3. Fink-Nottle

      > The bees will be carted off to West Lancashire

      That'll take some adjustment - in Wales they were the only bees in the village.

  2. AdamT
    Coat

    But no-one said:

    "It had to be seen to be Bee-lieved" !?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If only...

    "They’ll get into any cavity."

    Bees, I'd like to introduce you to Satya Nadella. (Note the IT angle.)

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ohhhh Bee-Have

  5. stucs201
    Coat

    Surely getting rid of bees is simple...

    ...just ask them to buzz off.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Surely getting rid of bees is simple...

      > ...just ask them to buzz off.

      Beexit?

  6. Unep Eurobats
    Black Helicopters

    Had one of those stealth fighters been in the vicinity?

    "They’ll get into any cavity."

    If I'd had an operation in that hospital recently I'd be rather concerned.

  7. Alistair
    Coat

    I'm sure the patients were'nt about to report it.

    Honey from the ceiling?

    Considering Horsepistol food, I'm sure they were trying to keep it quiet.

  8. magickmark
    IT Angle

    Honeywell?

    Maybe they should have left them there to harvest the honey?

    http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/09September/Pages/Bacteria-found-in-honey-may-help-fight-infection.aspx

    If I recall honey was historically used to treat cuts and wounds?

    Honeywell/Honey well - see an IT angle

    Update - just found this

    http://www.surgerysupplements.com/historical-use-of-honey-in-wound-care-through-the-ages/

    1. quxinot

      Re: Honeywell?

      " Honeywell?

      Maybe they should have left them there to harvest the honey?"

      Still is.

      http://www.dermasciences.com/medihoney

      Though that site makes it look and sound very much like quackery, it does work. Often used in wound care.

  9. ShrNfr

    No fair, no Noomi Rapache.

  10. Spudley

    I wonder if the bees got into the hospital arc-hives as well?

    (hmm, only if the administrator's name was Noah, perhaps)

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Did they find them near Orthabeedics?

  12. MartinBZM
    Coat

    I just thought ...

    Sweet !

    boom-tish

    Thank you, I will be away all week.

  13. deshepherd

    IT angle

    Were they running BeOS?

    1. Swarthy
      Devil

      Re: IT angle

      Nope, BeeSD.

  14. patrickstar

    This reminds me an awful lot of an X-Files episode, though there it doesn't take place in a hospital...

    Now where is the Cigarette-Smoking Man when we need him?

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      "Now where is the Cigarette-Smoking Man when we need him?"

      Roaming Malboro Country?

    2. Montreal Sean

      "Now where is the Cigarette-Smoking Man when we need him?"

      He's just down the hall in oncology.

  15. TRT Silver badge

    Welsh bees, you say?

    It's not unusual to be buzzed by anyone...

  16. mourner
    Pint

    After a long day at work it's actually heart warming to read about people buzzing about the place rescuing bee colonies. Restores my faith a little in humankind.

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    That's for the bee movers or even the bees if they so wish. :)

    1. Oengus

      It should be mead instead of beer...

  17. PassiveSmoking

    This sounds like a job for..

    DOCTOR BEES!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYtXuBN1Hvc

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