Caught a buzz today...

[Chenango Dave]

Good thing I have a long lens - these guys were swarming like crazy.

Take care

Dave

[Doc]

Those are honey bees .... right? I wonder if that is a domestic swarm or wild. I've got to say that spotting a wild honey bee around our area is becoming almost a rare event. What I hear is that some kind of mite is wiping out a bunch of them with no end in sight. It's a serious problem from the standpoint of all kinds of pollination.

I see those pictures as a welcome sight.

[First-light]

Very cool, never saw something like that.

[landtracdeerhunter]

What a nice site to see. They are, more in likely, a swarm from someones hive. Natures way of increasing the herd, so to speak. When space becomes limited in the hive, bees will build a new queen feeding a regular bee royal jelly. When the new queen hatches ,becomes strong enough, she will drive the old queen from the hive with about half of her loyal followers.Thus, a new beginning. As Doc mentioned, Many problems plaque the modern honey bee. American Foulbrood has always been a problem,Nosema, Varroa mite, and Sudden Colony Collapse where the worker bees leave the hive, never to return. Pesticide posioning is believed to be the result of the last.I lost several hives in 2007 due to this. Use to harvest a ton of honey back in the days. Have takened many a swarm off of objects in past years. Trees, fence post, tractor roll bars, and even off a cars steering wheel on Main street. Thanks for posting that picture. Go back and get yourself, what appear to be, a nice little gentle swarm of honey bees Dave.

[wooly]

Now that's pretty cool! I saw a colony of honey bees yesterday in a hole in a hemlock tree...not nearly that many though.

I hear smoke calms them down, so maybe next time you can spark a Marb and get yourself close enough to use a macro lens,lol

[Doc]

What a nice site to see. They are, more in likely, a swarm from someones hive. Natures way of increasing the herd, so to speak. When space becomes limited in the hive, bees will build a new queen feeding a regular bee royal jelly. When the new queen hatches ,becomes strong enough, she will drive the old queen from the hive with about half of her loyal followers.Thus, a new beginning. As Doc mentioned, Many problems plaque the modern honey bee. American Foulbrood has always been a problem,Nosema, Varroa mite, and Sudden Colony Collapse where the worker bees leave the hive, never to return. Pesticide posioning is believed to be the result of the last.I lost several hives in 2007 due to this. Use to harvest a ton of honey back in the days. Have takened many a swarm off of objects in past years. Trees, fence post, tractor roll bars, and even off a cars steering wheel on Main street. Thanks for posting that picture. Go back and get yourself, what appear to be, a nice little gentle swarm of honey bees Dave.

Now that is some spooky stuff! The bees create a new queen by giving her some magic potion? See, only Mother Nature could come up with stuff like that.

So if a guy were to come across a swarm, just how do you go about taking possession of them? I'd be at a total loss as to how to go about it.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Never smoke swarming bees. Their weak from swarming, and can be damaged. Capture the queen, have the swarm. She flows through the cluster, communicating with every bee. Trick is to find her when she surfaces. Put her in a queen cage, put in a box and the group will flow right into the box. It's really a sight to see watching them flow into the box, like a bunch of military soldiers on a march. Fence post are a little tougher to remove a swarm. In a tree. I use a card board box and shake the limb, holding the box underneath, all in my shirt sleeves. One thing, if your afraid of them, they know it. Stay Away! Call an experienced beekeeper.I never loose my respect for honey bees.

Edited June 10, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter

[Doc]

Never smoke swarming bees. Their weak from swarming, and can be damaged. Capture the queen, have the swarm. She flows through the cluster, communicating with every bee. Trick is to find her when she surfaces. Put her in a queen cage, put in a box and the group will flow right into the box. It's really a sight to see watching them flow into the box, like a bunch of military soldiers on a march. Fence post are a little tougher to remove a swarm. In a tree. I use a card board box and shake the limb, holding the box underneath, all in my shirt sleeves. One thing, if your afraid of them, they know it. Stay Away! Call an experienced beekeeper.I never loose my respect for honey bees.

That's fascinating stuff.

[erussell]

Past three yrs I have seen very little of the honey bees while mowing the lawn. This yr the clover in my lawn has been covered with them. Hopefully this is a good sign of a come back! Though it takes me longer to mow the lawn now because I cant bring myself to run them over.

Edited June 11, 2012 by erussell

[Chenango Dave]

Well my buddy Louie came and gave them a good home today.

[ny hunter]

Very cool pics,what did you do with the bee's?

[Doc]

.....Though it takes me longer to mow the lawn now because I cant bring myself to run them over.

Really? .... I thought I was the only one that worried about running over a honey bee with the mower..... lol.

[wooly]

Dave- looks like Louie missed a few.

Betcha I could have got them ALL in a pine box with nothing more than a fly swatter and a can of Raid!

....while wearing shorts and a T-shirt I might add,lol

[landtracdeerhunter]

Heres a swarm I picked up today. About 4000. The 3rd pic is what I mean by marching in like soldiers. The 4th, bees were flowing up the front of the hive to the top. They smell the new wax.

Edited June 12, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter

[wooly]

Heres a swarm I picked up today. About 4000. The 3rd pic is what I mean by marching in like soldiers. The 4th, bees were flowing up the front of the hive to the top. They smell the new wax.

Good stuff! I guess it's not for everybody, but it is still very interesting to hear from someone who knows so much about their 'bee'havior.

Here's a silly question for ya....out of 4000 bees, how do you know which one is the queen....just please don't tell me, "none of your bees wax" lol

Edited June 12, 2012 by wooly

[landtracdeerhunter]

Good one wooly, lol.