In a remarkable discovery that could have been straight out of a horror movie, a massive bee colony was found inside the walls of a Maine farmhouse at Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook.
The hive, containing more than 40,000 bees, had been quietly thriving within the home’s walls for decades—possibly as long as 70 or 80 years, according to homeowner Michael Knight.
“For sixty-plus years, there’s been bees in this house, and it might be longer than that,” Knight told local news outlet WMTW. The bees had become part of the house’s structure, with honeycomb embedded deep into the walls.
Faced with the daunting task of safely removing the bees, the family reached out to a local agricultural service, Bee Huggah, to relocate the colony. Andrew MacDonald, a beekeeper with Bee Huggah, emphasized the importance of preserving the bees rather than exterminating them.
“They have medicinal value and they pollinate our crops,” MacDonald said, explaining that the bees would be safely transported into a hive box and eventually relocated to another spot on the farm.
While this story might seem unusual, it’s not the first time a massive bee colony has been discovered within the walls of a home. Earlier this year in North Carolina, another shocking find was made when a three-year-old girl’s claims of “monsters in the wall” turned out to be tens of thousands of honeybees.
Saylor Class had been hearing buzzing near her bedroom ceiling, but her parents dismissed the noise at first. It wasn’t until they discovered bees clustered in their chimney and attic that they realized their daughter’s “monsters” were real.
The North Carolina family’s experience quickly went viral on TikTok after Saylor’s mother, Ashley Massis Class, posted a video documenting the bee removal process.
According to the BBC, Ashley described the bees as “pouring out like a horror movie” when pest control experts were finally called in. The honeybees caused significant damage to the home’s electric wiring, and repairs are expected to cost more than $20,000.
While the discovery of these massive colonies may seem alarming, it also underscores the critical role bees play in the ecosystem. Thanks to careful beekeepers like Andrew MacDonald, these bees will continue their vital work pollinating crops, even after their long-hidden hives are removed from human homes.
