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HONEYVILLE — For a few weeks at a time twice a year, a few residents of Honeyville are concerned about new neighbors buzzing near their homes.

Bees — dozens of boxes filled with bees — are mysteriously appearing at a gravel pit owned by Kilgore Companies just west of a residential area near 6900 North. Residents of the area said this has happened for years and nothing as happened because they vanish as quickly as they appear.

The bees returned weeks ago without warning and they’ll disappear soon, too, about as quickly as they came. It’s bit of a mystery, but more than that.

“They’re definitely an annoyance,” said Jeff Rinaldo, who resides less than a quarter-mile from the pit. Rinaldo said the bees come in and create problems for those living in the area for the past few years. He said the bees were so bad once it nearly killed the family’s horse.

“They’re not aggressive in the manner like a killer bee,” he said, “but they’re just so distracting you can’t move around without having to take a swat at one or try to get out of the way of one.”

For years, he said neighbors have just put up with the bees until they are gone. However, this year has been different.

“This is the largest congregation of bees I’ve seen up here in a long time,” he said. “Back when they were put out a limited amount of boxes, you’d put up with them, but when you see 20, 30, 40 bees in five minutes, that’s way too many.”

A photo of the boxes of bees that are being stored at a gravel pit in Honeyville. Residents in the area say the bees have been a nuisance. (Photo: Jeff Rinaldo)

So where did these bees come from and why are they being stored in the pit? The bees are actually owned by a business that distributes them across the state to various farms to pollinate flowers, according to Troy McNeeley, Public Works director for the town.

The business stores the bees in the pit for about a month during the spring before they are distributed across Utah to farmers for pollination. The bees are then collected back into the pit in fall before they are shipped to California for the winter, McNeeley said.

Neighbors in the area, like Rinaldo, are complaining that not much is being done to protect those in the area from the bees. Among the problems, Rinaldo said his wife is allergic to bee stings.

He said the town has done nothing about the situation. However, McNeeley said there isn’t much that can be done because Kilgore owns the pit and has its own agreement with the bee business.

Kilgore Companies officials didn’t return KSL’s phone calls regarding the pit and the deal with the bee business. McNeeley said he was aware of the bee business and its transaction with Kilgore, but didn’t know the company’s name.

“The bees are only out there for a few weeks at a time,” McNeeley said. “This is this guy’s livelihood — it’s his business. He’s got an agreement that he’s made with the gravel pit owners. There’s nothing the city can do about it. It’s not that big of a problem.”

For the residents of Honeyville living near the pit, it means a few more weeks of dealing with extra bees before they quickly leave again.

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