The tens of thousands of bees removed from a Maine farmhouse this week had caused quite a buzz there for decades, according to the family who’s lived on the farm since the 18th century.

The family that owns Smiling Hill Farm is doing its best to protect a bee colony that has occupied a farmhouse for decades. The Knight family said a hive with more than 40,000 bees grew within the walls of a home on their property.

The family, who said the bees could have been in the walls for up to 80 years, wanted to safely relocate the colony instead of killing the insects. So, the family called in a bee expert to move them from the walls to a hive outside of the building.