Bee experts are buzzing after discovering one of the biggest feral hives they've seen.
The monster hive is home to around 35,000 Italian honey bees that have set up camp in a south Auckland backyard.
Resident Toafa Faimalo-Tai was celebrating her son's birthday at her Conifer Gr home, when she made the frightening discovery.
"I was freaked out... I was so scared i couldn't believe how big it was"
But the south Auckland mother says it was a while before she knew the full size of the problem.
"It had a cover blocking it and my grandsons tried to bring it to my attention but I ignored them. They said ‘Nana, Nana there's a bee a big bee’ and i just said to them keep away from it."
Faimalo-Tai called in local bee keeper Rose Weir to help remove the hive. Weir has been a bee keeper for more than a decade and was surprised at how long the hive had managed to survive.
"It’s the only one I’ve seen this big ... And its construction, how they've waxed it to the vine is amazing"
Weir suspects the hive has been buzzing for around two years, and says it'll require a special bee vacuum to move the hive.
"It will suck the bees into a box and hopefully we're going to find the queen which will be good. Then if we get the queen all of the bees will go into the box."
The huge hive will then be removed piece by piece and taken to Weir's home in Papatoetoe.
Faimolo-Tai even gets to keep the honey.
She says "I can't wait to taste that honey because rose was apparently saying that it'll be pure honey because it's not treated."
The bees will be removed in the next month.
Newshub.
