Bees!!!

[silver_vibe]

My wife called me and emailed me a photo of a "bee hive" that magically appeared in a tree in my front yard. An hour later it was totally gone. Obviously it wasn't a hive, but rather bees swarming and looking for a place to colonize. My wife got a nice photo anyway. Amazing to think this is a ball of bees (no hive under them).My wife said it was about the size of a football.

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[Herb]

Wow, that's quite the sight!

[nygiantzz1]

This may be what caused it:Bees Swarm in CA After Truck Flips OverThe Associated Press2008-03-17 02:53:01.0Current rank: Not ranked SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Millions of swarming honey bees are on the loose after a truck carrying crates of the insects flipped over on a California highway.The California Highway Patrol says 8-to-12 million bees escaped Sunday from the crates in which they were stored and swarmed over an area of Highway 99 and stung officers, firefighters and tow truck drivers trying to clear the accident.CHP Officer Michael Bradley says a tractor trailer flipped over while entering the highway on its way to Yakima, Wash. The flatbed was carrying bee crates each filled with up to 30,000 bees.Bradley says several beekeepers driving by the accident stopped to assist in the bee wrangling.The bees had been used in the San Joaquin Valley to pollinate crops.

[NascarXprt]

holy crap what a sight!!

[WaveAction]

thats awesome

[zionzr2]

You wouldnt catch me with a photo that close.Unless I was several thousand feet away with one incredable zoom lens.

[silver_vibe]

Quote, originally posted by nygiantzz1 »This may be what caused it:Bees Swarm in CA After Truck Flips Over...It's possible. I'm sure bees can fly 400 miles since Sunday.Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »You wouldnt catch me with a photo that close.Unless I was several thousand feet away with one incredable zoom lens.My wife says she got 5' away and zoomed in. She said the bees were completely ignoring her.

[waveresponder]

neat!..and ha thats a vehicle accident i would not like to respond to...

[lovemyraffe]

That is an awesome pic!

[MRCN RCE]

yep it's a swarm. it's pretty small, too. nevermind, just noticed you said it was football sized Quote, originally posted by silver_vibe »My wife says she got 5' away and zoomed in. She said the bees were completely ignoring her.they're too full of honey to worry about someone walking by, unless they're really aggressive. take a lil time today and walk around your house while the sun's up and look along the rooflines, and in cracks and crevices for activity (bees flying in and out constantly). they can get into a hole as small as 1/4". they probably went somewhere else, but it doesn't hurt to make sure they didn't choose to pick a spot in your home. if you notice anything, let me know and i can give you some tips on getting rid of em.in case you're wondering, i used to do LIVE bee removal for a living, and i've seen some pretty crazy stuff. what would you guys do if you were standing in front of an eight foot by 10 foot bee hive??

[altimar]

Quote, originally posted by MRCN RCE »what would you guys do if you were standing in front of an eight foot by 10 foot bee hive?? I'd rather not say, but I imagine it would take a bucket load of laundry detergent to clean up.

[silver_vibe]

Quote, originally posted by MRCN RCE »...take a lil time today and walk around your house while the sun's up and look along the rooflines, and in cracks and crevices for activity (bees flying in and out constantly). they can get into a hole as small as 1/4". they probably went somewhere else, but it doesn't hurt to make sure they didn't choose to pick a spot in your home. if you notice anything, let me know and i can give you some tips on getting rid of em...Thanks for the tip. I checked around for just the reason yesterday and saw nothing, but I'll probably check everyday for a while. I was considering spraying Dursban around my entire house tomorrow to repel them...do you think that would help?Also, out of curiosity, my city told me I would have to call Vector Control if they formed a hive. Do you know if they kill them or take them away live? I know the bee population is dwindling and I'd hope they would not kill them.

[Whelan]

5' is still to close for me. Considering I'm allergic to them I run like a girl when they come near.

[scott_h]

Leaves in March???

[Whelan]

Quote, originally posted by scott_h »Leaves in March??? It's Cali

[silver_vibe]

Quote, originally posted by scott_h »Leaves in March??? It's a citrus tree. It's green year round.My apricot/plum/nectarine/peach/apple trees are still bare.My lemon/orange/tangerine/avocado/lime/grapefruit trees are always green.

[WaveAction]

i'd get up close..bees dont attack unless you're aggressive to them and try and kill them..glad we dont get bees at this time of year..or any other annoying insect

[MRCN RCE]

Quote, originally posted by silver_vibe »Thanks for the tip. I checked around for just the reason yesterday and saw nothing, but I'll probably check everyday for a while. I was considering spraying Dursban around my entire house tomorrow to repel them...do you think that would help?Also, out of curiosity, my city told me I would have to call Vector Control if they formed a hive. Do you know if they kill them or take them away live? I know the bee population is dwindling and I'd hope they would not kill them.i've never used dursban, but from a quick search, it seems like it will do the trick. what you can do to get rid of the scent left by the bees in the tree is spray some febreeze on and around the branches they were hanging from. depending on how long they were there, you might even see some wax on the branches. scrape it off if you can, because that holds a lot of their pheromones, and can attract more bees.i can't remember if vector control does live removal or not.sorry it took so long to get back to you oh yeah, and one thing you can do in the future if you ever see some scout bees around your house is to put some bleach in a spray bottle, don't dilute it, and spray it where you see them flying. they can't stand the scent of bleach, so they'll leave that area alone. the way you can tell if they're scout bees or not is by watching how they're flying. if they're flying kind of close to the house, like they're lost, and trying to find an entrance, then they're scouting for a new place to bring the queen and the rest of the swarm. so by spraying the bleach, they'll be forced to find somewhere else to liveQuote, originally posted by WaveAction »i'd get up close..bees dont attack unless you're aggressive to them and try and kill them..glad we dont get bees at this time of year..or any other annoying insectthat really only applies to worker bees that are gathering pollen to take back to their established hives. if you're just hangin out on the porch, and one comes by to check you out and lands on you, then she's just being curious. she won't sting unless she's provoked by swatting or pinching her. most of the time, it's the oils in perfume or cologne that will draw them to us. a swarm is a different story. their queen is in that mass of bees, and their main focus is protecting their mother. generally they'll leave you alone because they're all kind of lethargic since they stuffed their stomachs with honey so they could survive until the new hive is built. but depending on how aggressive the guard bees are, they'll: 1) leave you alone and let you walk right by without any warnings, 2) alert you of their presence by flying around you sporadically, and if necessary, fly directly into you giving you a warning tap or 2, letting you know that they will sting if you don't leave, or 3) come at you full force without warning. the same applies with hives, except for the "being stuffed with honey" parti'm not sure how many african "killer" bees you have in canada, but in the southwest, they're spreading constantly, and are known for their very aggressive behavior, hence their nickname "killer bees"Quote, originally posted by nygiantzz1 »This may be what caused it:Bees Swarm in CA After Truck Flips Oververy unlikely. depending on the activity of the hive, a colony will split about twice a year. so there was a full hive somewhere near silver_vibe's house, the queen saw fit to start a new home, laid some queen eggs then left with half of the colony, and used his tree as a resting spot until a suitable new home was found