Beehive removed from tree

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Hundreds of bees were causing some trouble at a South Florida home.

Tens of thousands of bees have spent the last year building a giant hive inside a tree. "I never expected there would be a large bee hive up in a tree," said homeowner Felix Mari.

The insect honey-producing operation was too close for homeowner Felix Mari and his family's comfort. "I wouldn't let my girls come out here in the backyard and play because of the bees," said Mari.

Mari said the bees have been finding their way into his home for months. The bees even stung his dog, but no one could figure out where they were coming from until, Thursday. "I lived in this house for seven years and never saw any bees around," said Mari. "I figure they were coming from somewhere, but we could never find where they were coming from, but I never suspected they would be up in the tree."

Mari realized he could not handle the huge hive alone, so he called the expert, the Crazy Bee Man. "There must have been anywhere between 30,000 and 50,000 bees easily," said Crazy Bee Man Eddie Mena.

Mena and his team climbed 10 feet up the tree to reach the hive and smoked out the bees. They also grabbed chunks of honeycomb. "I tasted the honey. It was sweet, and it had a flowery taste. It was pretty good," said Mena.

Getting the honey is one thing, but getting the hive is a delicate operation. "It was very uncomfortable because the panels were intertwined with the tree, so we had to cut them and while we are cutting them, the bees start moving around," said Mena. "They want to attack you. They got upset."

Despite their honeycomb hideout being dismantled and their hard work broken into pieces, the bees refused to fly away. "We have boxes and we put them in there and hopefully they'll start producing [honey] in about three or four months," said Mena.

Mena said they were stung a few times during the operation but added that they're so used to it, it barely stings.

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