Philipsburg/French Quarter: --- President of the French Agricultural Association Dorvan Cocks and his cousin Norman Lake are urging residents on both sides of the island to call them if they have bees in their areas.Cocks and Lake both residents of French Quarter said they have been trying to save the honey bees and their hives on St. Maarten while preparing more hives at Rue du Frères French Quarter.
The two St. Martin men were seen Sunday morning in the yard of the Government Administration Building retrieving honey and preparing the cadres to removes the swarm of bees that gathered under the Christmas hut. While harvesting honey can be dangerous both Cocks and Lake are professionals as they both took a training course in Guadeloupe to deal with honey and bees.
The president of the French side Agricultural Association said he is pleading with the residents not to call the exterminators to get rid of the bees since St. Martin is losing the bees as well as the fresh honey that has no preservatives. He added that while people maybe afraid of the bees who can sometimes be very aggressive there is a safe way to remove the bees. He said when there are bees the fruits and vegetable trees on the island would bear more fruits since it is the bees that pollinate these trees.
The two entrepreneurs said that so far, they saved about 12 hives and they are hoping to begin harvesting honey early next year and to commercialize it so that residents on the island could purchase fresh natural honey for their personal use. They said to save these bee hives they have to buy materials such as the smokers, the suits, as well as materials to prepare the cadres.
Cocks said one of the challenges they currently have is that youngsters in the area are purposely destroying their hives but day by day, they are able to curb the maliciousness of the youths.
Residents can reach Dorvan Cocks at telephone numbers 005995-34638 or 00590 690 87-06-92 while Norman Lake can be reached at 005995-233171 or 00590-690 47-89 08 or Emilio Martina at 005995-23 8893. Interventions to save the hives would cost $150 for simple interventions or $60 to take off swarms off trees. Prices for larger interventions they said have to be assessed depending on the amount of work to locate the hives.