Humans aren’t alone in liking Central Park
Staff writer
Residents walking through Central Park on the sidewalk between the fountains might hear a slight buzzing sound, if their ear is turned just right. Up high in a gnarled tree, a honey bee colony has made its home in a hollow knot.
Park caretaker Kevin Hill said he knew there were bees in the park, but didn’t know where they lived.
“I noticed when servicing the fountains that bees would come down and get a drink,” he said. “I also saw them on pop cans I would gather in a bucket in the back of my truck. They’d be there getting the sugar.”
This is not the first time the park has been home for a bee colony. This is the first place Hill has found the bees, although he expects they’ve had a hive in or around the park every year for at least the nine years he’s worked there.
“This is the only place I’ve ever come across them, but there have probably been other areas,” he said.
Hill said he has never heard of anyone having trouble with the bees or getting stung.
“In my experience if you’re not aggravating them then they do their thing and you yours and there are no problems,” he said.
Hill suspects that the bees are attracted to the park by the many flowers in and around the park, sweet items thrown into trash cans, and the constant water source from the fountains. However he’s not a bee expert, Hill said.