Beehive Yourselves: A million honeybees move into Wallkill New York home

The big buzz in a small town in New York is all about the one million honey bees hanging out beneath the siding of a local house.

The family that lives in the Wallkill home discovered the bees after clearing trees from the property, and immediately called for help because the wife is allergic to the insects, reports the Middletown Times Herald-Record. The homeowners were preparing to replace the siding but can't proceed until their secret tenants have been safely removed.

Beekeepers are still scoping out the problem, making plans. They plan to be gentle.

"Save the bees, save the world," operations manager and head beekeeper Marcel Witschard said of the endangered species. "Without bees, we will starve."

It will take at least a week to remove the colony. They're currently cutting the siding off the house to expose all the bees clustered beneath, method Witschard calls "reverse construction".

They'll then cut out the honey combs and put them into bee stacking along with "as many bees as will follow the queen," he said. Some compartments will hold the brood and the eggs, and some will hold the pollen the bees have gathered.

A special padded vacuum will be used to more forcibly remove the stragglers who aren't eager about switching home.

"They need some time to get acclimated," explained Witschard's beekeeping son. "Some get stubborn and keep going back to the house. It's just like when you have to move and you miss your old house."