Shoalhaven City Council admitted to poisoning the bees at 7am.

“They were treated with a low level chemical to get rid of them,” a council spokeswoman said.

Several months ago, the colony of European honey bees had built their nest in the air vent, above a pathway in Nowra.

Regular passers reported the bees were harmless, flying metres above the path, in and out of the air vent, but not towards people.

Shoalhaven Beekeepers offer a service to relocate swarms of bees, and are heavily involved in protecting the local bee population.

The feral honey bee provides a valuable biodiversity and ecosystem service to the Australian environment through its pollination practices, as well as having an important role to play in crop production.

About one third of foods — including apples, berries, ­almonds and coffee — require pollination.

Bee decline is now a global problem with up to 90 per cent of crops at risk. 

Many animals (including livestock) are dependent on bees for their food supply.

In The Life of the Bee, Nobel prize winner Maurice Maeterlinck wrote, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”

More to come.