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!
-Mark
Last edited by liquidsquid; 05/03/13 11:04 AM.
