Attn: bee lovers :) (4 pics)

[bayouchica]

My hubby was walking the dogs & hollered at me to come see.They were on one of the fig trees out back.
I've lived out here 6 yrs now & every spring I've heard the bees swarming in the trees.Finally got a chance to see them up close doing their thing.Totally awesome

I could just watch them all day..quite interesting.
This was yesterday evening,they were split up in two groups

They were still there this morning,just one big blob of bees,lol.

close up shot

Thanks for looking

yall have a wonderful day, Miriam

 

[arlee453]

What wonderful pictures! I think bees are so facinating, and so under appreciated for the role they play in fertilizing all our fruits and veggies! One day I'd like to have a bee hive myself!

Thanks for sharing....

 

[ilovemychickies]

WOW! That's amazing. Thanks for posting that!

 

[greeneggsandham]

You should get a hive. I bought one last year and will be getting bees this May. I can't wait to be a beekeeper

 

[Ga Chicken Mom]

A beekeeper would love to know about this swarm. My father had bee hives and would capture swarms in the spring when people would get in touch with him. Perhaps you could google and see if there is a bee keeping group in your area. The swarm needs to find a new home.

 

[wilds of pa]

Wonder if they are Africanized, they are in your state???? Becareful, if not Yes id hive them. we used to have about ten hives at one time, but the mites kept wiping them out year after year. fianlly we gave up. After buying packages of bee's it was appearnt the strips we where using just werent doing the job. I ques from what ive been reading is there is new problems with raising them along with the mites and beetles.

Expensive hobby up here where we live. You see the hive boxes disappearing all the time off the farms. I havent seen a wild hive in a tree or old building in years here.

its a shame, pestasides i think are part of the problems..

do your home work before you invest..it will save alot of headaches

The Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) swarms much more frequently than other honey bees. A colony is a group of bees with comb and brood. The colony may either be managed (white hive boxes maintained by professional beekeepers) or wild (feral).

A group of bees that are in the process of leaving their parent colony and starting a nest in a new location is called a "swarm." Usually a new queen is reared to stay with the parent colony and the old queen flies off with the swarm. Scout bees often locate potential nest sites prior to swarming, but the swarm may spend a day or two clustered in impressive, hanging clumps on branches or in other temporary locations until the bees settle on a new nesting site. If they can't find a suitable location, the bees may fly several miles and cluster again.

Typically a European Honey Bee (EHB) hive will swarm once every 12 months. However, the AHB may swarm as often as every six weeks and can produce a couple of separate swarms each time. This is important for you to know, because if the AHB swarms more often, the likelihood of your encountering an AHB swarm increases significantly.

Regardless of myths to the contrary, Africanized Honey Bees do not fly out in angry swarms to randomly attack unlucky victims. However, the AHB can become highly defensive in order to protect their hive, or home. Again, it is now better to consistently exercise caution with respect to all bee activity. So keep your distance from any swarm of bees.

The AHB is far less selective about what it calls home. The AHB will occupy a much smaller space than the EHB. Known AHB nesting locations include water meter boxes, metal utility poles, cement blocks, junk piles, and house eaves. Other potential nesting sites include overturned flower pots, old tires, mobile home skirts, and abandoned structures. Holes in the ground and tree limbs, mail boxes, even an empty soda pop, can could be viewed as "home" to the AHB.

The Africanized Honey Bee is extremely protective of their hive and brood. The AHB's definition of their "home turf" is also much larger than the European Honey Bee. So, try to allow ample physical distance between the hive. At least 100 feet, or the width of a four-lane highway, is a good distance. The best advice is that if you see a bee hive, start moving away immediately.

In 2005, Africanized Honey Bees showed up for the first time in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida. The arrival in Florida was not contiguous with the bees' spread from the Southwest. It was most likely a result of human assisted transport, by which trucks, ships, railroad cars, or other types of transportation inadvertently bring Africanized Honey Bees into new areas.

Usually, human−assisted transport finds are not considered part of Africanized Honey Bees' spread. But because they have been found in 14 counties, the State of Florida now considers Africanized Honey Bees to be established there.

Among Agricultural Research Service's recent research accomplishments related to the bees is new guidance for beekeepers on the best time to re-queen hives to reverse Africanization of Honey Bee colonies. Queens of known genetics, from reputable breeders, should be introduced into hives in the fall to give them the best chance of being accepted by the bee colony.


Charlie

 

[Reinbeau]

This is swarm season for the warm parts of the country, all honeybees, if they are so inclined, swarm. Any good beekeeper could tell if they were africanized or not. That isn't the first thing that should come to mind! They need a home, and have sent scouts out looking for one. It's no doubt too late now, but the best thing to do (if you aren't prepared to hive them yourself

) is to contact a local beekeeper - they'll take good care of them!

Here's a link to a map that lists beekeepers across the country. Find one in your area and give them a call! One guy who is in Louisiana (Metarie, I believe) has been catching swarms and doing cutouts now for over a month, just about daily. So far he hasn't run across any africanized bees at all.

 

[sara]

Those are beautiful pictures! Last year one of the hives on our property swarmed and landed on one of our fence posts, not nearly as beautiful of a sight as what you have there. The gentleman that has them here, came and got them in a hive. He gives me lots of honey, so it's a win-win situation. My dad is also a beekeeper, he takes bees back and forth to Florida.

 

[chickbea]

Cool! Thanks for the picture!

 

[wilds of pa]

Sara, bet your Dad knows the bee inspector(paul) as he lives about 5 homes down from. Nice fella he is..