100,000 Bees Invade University Building

HOUSTON -- More than 100,000 bees have invaded a building at the University of Houston, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.University officials said the bees have taken up residence between the walls of the Cullen College of Engineering building."Mother Nature guided them to that spot and it was an easy place for them to get into," bee expert Mike Knuckey said. "It was placed where they could control the temperature and their environment."

Knuckey began removing the bees at about 8:30 a.m. The extrication was expected to take all day. Knuckey said he has to use smoke to subdue the bees and then remove the bricks one by one to get to the hive."Our hope is to safely remove the bees and relocate them to a less populated area on campus," said Alex Alexander, director of custodial and grounds. "The bee population is already under stress. UH is concerned about the environment we inhabit and will choose to protect it whenever possible."Officials said faculty and students noticed the bees several months ago.The bees are suspected to have created a 50- to 100- square-foot hive in the building.The bees have not stung anyone, officials said."Many of the students don't even know we have this situation," Alexander said. "It's been kind of a surprise to them, all this attention that is getting. We don't consider this a dangerous situation."Some students said the infestation concerned them."I'm kind of allergic to them," Fernando Gomez said. "I know I'm not the only one around this campus. There's a lot of students around this campus, if they get bit, Lord knows what can happen to them. I wouldn't want to get bit by one."Honey has been seen dripping from the building's weep holes.