On a warm summer afternoon, Mark Urnes’ phone rang. It was the Port Angeles Police Department, relaying a distress call about a swarm of bees in a backyard. Urnes wrote down the address and rushed over.
Urnes is the go-to guy around Port Angeles when it comes to capturing swarming bees. He averages three or four swarms per summer. He is one of the 70 members of the North Olympic Peninsula Beekeepers Association , and Urnes is on the local police and fire departments’ “swarm list” as a known beekeeper willing to safely relocate swarming honeybees.
Urnes is also an educator and an apiary enthusiast — but saving neighbors from the swarm creates the most buzz. More Naturally, thousands of frenzied bees swarming is a frightening sight. But Urnes says that when bees are swarming, they actually tend to be less aggressive.
“They’re away from their hive, and they generally only sting when the hive is threatened,” he said. Still, it’s safest — for bees and humans — to call in an experienced beekeeper for help. “He is an expert,” said Urnes’ neighbor, Denise Bennett, who described him as careful with swarms and passionate about beekeeping.
“People call, and Mark drops whatever he is doing. His passion for the bees is amazing.” Beekeeping associations typically offer free swarm relocation services, and they’re active all over the state.
The larger Washington State Beekeepers Association lists organizations statewide, including the Puget Sound Beekeepers .
