A Penticton couple who were participating in the annual duck race made a detour over the weekend to capture and transport a swarm of bees not far from citysa国际传媒檚 downtown.

The swarm had settled on a tree near Edmonton Avenue and Main Street, close enough to the ground that a resident of the area who was out for a walk, spotted it and snapped a photo.

sa国际传媒淲e had just left the duck drop and I was going to post on Facebook about it and I happened to see the post,sa国际传媒� said Brenda Aarstad. sa国际传媒淎 lot of times they can go fairly high in a tree and then itsa国际传媒檚 almost impossible to get them. These were just three feet off the ground.sa国际传媒�

Brenda and her husband Ron moved to the city just a year ago, and with that came Ronsa国际传媒檚 10 years of beekeeping experience. After checking in with the original poster to make sure the bees were still there, they drove down and Ron and Brendasa国际传媒檚 brother-in-law suited up.

The bees were boxed up and taken to where they would have a new home next to the Aarstadsa国际传媒檚 previous hive.

sa国际传媒淎ny beekeeper would be happy to catch a swarm because wesa国际传媒檙e all trying to do the best thing for the bees,sa国际传媒� said Ron. sa国际传媒淭o try and catch one thatsa国际传媒檚 already out, itsa国际传媒檚 just better for the bees.sa国际传媒�

A swarm can account for anywhere between 30,000 to 40,000 bees, according to the Aarstads, and a full hive can see numbers reach up to 80,000.

Swarming generally occurs early in the year as temperatures warm up, and is often precipitated by a swelling in the hivesa国际传媒檚 population, a sign that the bees are making ready to set up another hive.

It wasnsa国际传媒檛 the first swarm that the couple had dealt with, but it was the first since coming to Penticton. The swarms arensa国际传媒檛 aggressive, but will still respond if someone tries to run them off or do something like soak them with a hose.

sa国际传媒淲ay to go Penticton for watching for these swarms, letsa国际传媒檚 take care of our bees,sa国际传媒� said Brenda.

Over at the beessa国际传媒� new residence, they were given a new set of walls, frames for their hive, and plenty of sugar water, bee fondant and pollen to eat up.