Actually I know there is one other for sure. Just checked some hives again last night, it's easy to find the queens now with the lower drone and worker population. Also plenty of pollen coming in.
Yeah, mine are going bonkers trying to keep up with the flow which just hit these past few days!
I tried to service my one and only hive, but the buggers glued both brood supers together to the point that when I got them separated, all of the lower brood frames slid out with the tops! I cannot get the top frames separated for all of the propolis (sp?). I don't know what to do, so I put them back together and called it a day. I was intending on swapping the supers to move the bees to the bottom.
Saw a few small hive beetles, grrr. Considering the winter, I did NOT expect that.
For now, I am going to have to leave them alone to let them do their thing in this massive outburst of flowers.
I used to have about 20 colonies. Then I married a woman who is deathly allergic to stings. I can't recall ever getting stung from normal operations but couldn't take the chance with her.
Last edited by Dave Davidson1; 05/02/1305:50 AM.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
I have been thinking about getting some bees next spring.
Bushwacker....I've got plenty for you!
We discovered a huge, huge nest inside a very large tree. They've hollowed out or taken advantage of a huge hollow inside an enormous tree.
There are two holes in the tree about the size of a coffee can and it is like a busy airport with tons of bees in and out every second.
The local bee-keeper came out and said he thought there was between 500K and a million bees in that 12 foot trunk of the tree.
We were repairing some barb-wire fencing and had to clean out the area to get access to the old fence. The beekeeper said if the backhoe would have hit the tree hard or God-forbid tried to knock the tree down it could have meant death to the backhoe driver.
It's in sort of an isolated area so we may just leave it alone, or the guy said we could try and seal the two holes during the winter, but he said the bees would probably still find a way in and out. I may try to get a picture this weekend.
Hey BeeKeepers, Any idea on what the swarm in this photo is? They come thru my area for about 1 to 2 days around late march every year and can be found like this in a tree in the morning. They always stay high so I can not get a good look. This photo was taken at 10:18 am April 1, 2012.
I thought that the honeybee is what they are. Anyway there are no beekeepers within about 6 miles of me so it must be from a Feral hive. The local beekeepers want me too call them if they ever show up low enough to gather.
Too dangerous to gather feral swarms here b/c of the risk of getting Africanized bees, especially Miami and south
Been doing some reading about bees. Angry honey bees might chase you 150-300 yards if they swarm. Angry Africanized bees might chase you a half mile. If you jump in the pond to escape... Africanized bees will many times hover over and wait.
40 people in US die from bee attacks per year, out of a population of over 300 million people.
I used to have about 20 colonies. Then I married a woman who is deathly allergic to stings. I can't recall ever getting stung from normal operations but couldn't take the chance with her.
Good move Dave (I'm sure it was tough). A cousin of mine died from one bee sting... nobody knew she was allergic.
Just call your wife "HONEY", she's the queen bee .
A very interesting book ( to me b/c I'm a nerd) is Honeybee Democracy by Seeley. He talks about the amazing coordination and communication involved in a swarm
Nonafricanized swarms are usually very docile, and I have seen people stick their hands through them with no effect.
Bees are an amazing super organism, only focused on the good of the hive. For example, when a bee senses its about to die, it will fly off and leave the hive so that her fellow workers don't have to waste time and energy removing her body from the hive. THAT is commitment to your goals. The human race could learn a lot from bees.
I saw a story on Yahoo News this morning about the decline of the European honey bee in the US. It's getting serious.
Mark, those wild bees are about as rare as huge bucks and double digit bass. I wouldn't mess with them unless they become overly aggressive. Every beekeeper will wind up with some wild colonies around when they swarm.
H_L, I don't understand it. I never get stung by anything. But, every wasp and mosquito zooms in on her. One time, we were fishing a neighbors pond/lake and buffalo gnats got on her but didn't bother me. It looked like I had beaten the dickens out of her.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Dave - Have you considered keeping bees at someone else's place? We have a friend's bees at our place since they do us no harm, and we have a few wild hives anyway.
hey gallop.....just curious we have that huge nest inside a huge tree. what happens inside that tree like in Jan/Feb? when even in Texas temps get down in the thirties? I assume all the bees die? or do a few make it/hibernate?
if they all die, then how does the hive always start back up inside the same tree?
Zep, That is one of the reasons why bees collect honey, they metabolize it to generate heat. They all pack together in cold weather, eat honey, and generate heat to stay alive. Example: It was well below zero a few days this winter, and my hive outdoors with a screen bottom survived just fine. I did feed them "bee candy" as they were running low on natural stores (honey + pollen), but otherwise honey bees are equipped to deal with cold.
So do the bees keep reproducing right thru winter? I think the bee-keeper that came out said "bees only live 37 days" or something like that. So how do they make it thru winter?
If we want to get rid of the huge tree nest next winter due to potential safety issues of small children on ATV's ect near the tree nest....are the bees like in a "coma" when say it's 30 degrees outside? I guess what I'm getting at...is if we poured gas down the hole in Feb when it's 25 degrees outside would the bees swarm? I am not sure we are going to do something like this....but I am curious.
The winter bees live a lot longer, since for the most part they are in a kind of "stasis", so they are not wearing out. In the fall the queen stops laying eggs, and the drones are all kicked out of the hive since they are "dead weight". The queen won't start laying eggs again until early spring, before the flowers start opening. Then the hive goes into a mad frenzy!
I started off beekeeping pretty darned scared of the buggers, but now I have gotten used to them. I thought they would be a lot more touchy than they really are. Non-Africanized bees are tame to the point of the only time they will bother you is if you squish one, or reach your hand into the hive and start stealing honey. Otherwise they ignore you. Most bee-keepers around here work on the hives in shorts and t-shirts. They get stung occasionally, but not often.
I suit up like I am going to the moon. Still chicken.
So to answer your question: The bees will not give two craps about 4-wheelers, walking nearby, or even sticking your face down near the hole to take a look, unless you directly mess with them. No rock throwing or attempting to squish a few.
I say leave them alone, they are extremely beneficial!
If safety really is a concern, then call in bee-keepers. They would love to get their hands on naturalized bees that are pest tolerant and successful. They will do it for free! I cannot stress enough how valuable a wild colony can be if their genetics are tolerant to current pests which are wiping out other hives.
They will probably smoke them a little, cut the side of the tree open, spray them with sugar-water to keep them busy, vacuum them out, take some comb and bees and put them into hives. At that point it is time to get some honey! You will probably have enough to sell, share, etc and then some.
Do it the fun way, killing them with gas or poison removes your ability to harvest the honey. That stuff is liquid gold!
I say leave them alone, they are extremely beneficial!
Thanks so much liquidsquid. Some great info. They are quite amazing, and like you the bee-keeper that stopped by said they do an enormous amount of good. We will probably leave them "bee".....they are in a somewhat isolated part of the property, but the tree trunk nest is on one of the ATV trails....so I was concerned about the noise stirring them into a frenzy. The bee-keeper told me one of the reasons they get stirred up from noise is the queen sends out signals and if noise from a tractor or mower interferes with them being able to get the queen's signal they go into a frenzy.
If you think walking by or buzzing by the tree with ATV's is safe...then we may leave them alone....but sometimes I've got some precious cargo like the two rascals shown below with me and I just didnt want to take any chances.
As another aside, I have my 7yo (was 5, happens too fast!) give me a hand when I check out the bees. We both squat down and count the bees going in and out to see what they are bringing in. Of course my son has been stung once by a honey bee, and he is more or less immune to stings. I am much more bothered than he is.
Sometimes they land in your hair, and the temptation is to smack 'em but we leave them well enough alone!
I won't work the hive with him outside though, they get kinda testy when you are yanking things apart.
One thing to have around at all times (whether you have bees or not) is an Epi-pen. When you are isolated from immediate care where it may take more than 1/2 hour for an ambulance to reach you, it will save a life.
The interesting thing with bee stings (any bee) is you could have been stung with no issues your whole life, and then suddenly one day you can have a life-threatening reaction. The next day... no problem again.
To dangerous to gather feral swarms here b/c of the risk of getting Africanized bees, especially Miami and south
You guys further north may not have that issue
Thanks I found where U of Florida stated the Africanized bees made it to Alabama as of 2012. I live in Southeast Alabama so the chance is there they could be Africanized.
The little one has not been stung yet, so I do not know if she is allergic.
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