'Aggressive swarm of bees' force partial closure of Brisbane's Boondall Wetlands
A rogue hive of aggressive bees has forced the partial closure of the Boondall Wetlands in Brisbane's north-east while council officers and specialist contractors remove the insects.
Brisbane City Council advises residents and visitors to avoid the Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre, the centre car park and associated walking tracks.
Parts of the Boondall Wetlands have been temporarily closed by Brisbane City Council.Credit:Google Maps
Deagon Ward Councillor Jared Cassidy said the centre staff tried to remove the "rogue hive" early on Wednesday but the bees were too aggressive and swarming dangerously.
"Anyone going there, even just parking in the car park, is at risk of being stung," Cr Cassidy said.
"They are swarming quite badly ... we have council officers there now and external bee specialists on the way to calm them down and remove the hive.
"We're not sure how long they have been there for, but this hive is not a long-term one."
Cr Cassidy said while it was not a regular occurrence to have bees in the wetlands area, the council regularly responds to hives in trees located in public parks.
"This is not a regular occurrence; we get it in parks, bees swarm out of the hive and set up in a tree and sometimes we get a report of a bunch of bees swarming around trees," he said.
"This is a similar case and we usually try to deal with it around dusk and dawn, which the centre staff tried to do this morning."
Brisbane City Council expects the Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre to reopen on Thursday.
Toby Crockford is a breaking news reporter at the Brisbane Times