Swarm of 20,000 honeybees stalls Cork cricket game

The Munster Reds were taking on the Northern Knights at Cork County Cricket Club on Wednesday when the insects made a beeline for the pitch and play was halted for more than an hour

A swarm of 20,000 honeybees descended on Cork County Cricket Club, stopping play. Picture: Oisín Keniry

Munster cricket players were forced to take cover after a swarm of 20,000 honeybees descended on and delayed their game in Cork.

The Munster Reds were taking on the Northern Knights at Cork County Cricket Club on Wednesday when the insects made a beeline for the pitch and play was halted for over an hour.

Cork beekeeper Mauro Dias was called in to save the day and get the situation under control.

“I was finishing up work when I got a call to say that there was a swarm of bees down on the cricket pitch," he said.

“When I arrived, there was a bit of a commotion, all the players were standing around looking at the bees. They were nervous. But when they saw me handling the bees they realised that they weren’t in any danger, and relaxed.” 

According to Mr Dias, “the bees were very calm” and he had no issue securing them into a beehive. He did so with his bare hands and no protective gear or suit.

“When honeybees are in swarm mode, they don’t go around stinging people, that’s why I was able to handle them with my bare hands. I’m used to them; I know how to treat them.

They were not in attacking mode, they were just trying to protect the queen and stick together. The last thing they want to do is kill themselves because when they sting someone, they will die themselves.

Cricket players take cover after a swarm of 20,000 honeybees descended on their cricket game in Cork. Picture: Oisín Keniry

Mr Dias is not sure where the bees came from, but he expects that they swarmed from somewhere else, perhaps from another beekeeper or beehive or from someone’s roof.

The bees settled on a fence surrounding the pitch and according to Mr Dias “they were quite happy to be there” and landed there “because they were tired”.

Mr Dias believes that the bees may have outgrown the space they were living in and were just looking for a new place to go.

“What they do is stop somewhere and then send out scout bees. Scout bees try to sort out a new place for them to live," he said.

“They were just stopped there waiting for the scout bees to come back with a new location.”

Beekeeper Mauro Dias of Buzz of Nature came to the rescue yesterday after a swarm of 20,000 honeybees delayed a cricket game in Cork. Picture: Oisín Keniry

After the initial fright, Mr Dias said that everyone began to take pictures and enjoy the phenomenon.

He said there was one brave spectator who got up close and personal and even held some bees herself.

“She was quite happy, she didn’t get stung or anything. They were just honeybees, normal, standard honeybees and they are not dangerous once you don’t mess around with them,” he said.

A spectator gets up close to some of the honeybees. Picture: Oisín Keniry

The bees that Mr Dias rescued were not hurt during the incident and now live in one of his apiaries in Glounthaune.

“They all seemed to be fine to me; the players and spectators all kept their distance and as soon as we moved some of them into the box, the others followed. It was not like we had to shove them into the box or anything; everything went quite well,” he said.

Mr Dias, originally from Portugal, has been living in Cork for more than 15 years. He started beekeeping as a hobby almost a decade ago.

“I have a normal, day-to-day job and I do this in my free time, but it has turned into a busy hobby,” he said.

A fascinated spectator looks on as Mauro Dias of from Buzz of Nature handles some honeybees. Picture: Oisín Keniry

When Mr Dias started off he had his own bees but in the last three years more issues started to emerge in the locality and he decided to start helping people move problem bees to a safe location.

Mr Dias documents this process on his Instagram page, Buzz of Nature. He wants to create awareness about bees and doesn’t want people to be afraid of them any more. He wishes everyone would treat bees with respect “because they are so important for everyone.”

Mauro Dias of Buzz of Nature, handling some honeybees who delayed a cricket game in Cork. Picture: Oisín Keniry

Mr Dias had this advice for anyone with a bee problem: “Always take advice from a beekeeper. Don’t try to scare the bees, don’t try to touch the bees because they might get a bit aggressive. Get someone who knows what they’re doing and to get the bees out and moved along.” 

The match was part of the T20 Festival, an inter-provincial, three-day tournament taking place in Cork this week, and was being livestreamed at the time.