Somethin' ain't right...

Something ain't right with the world folks. I got a call the other day. Someone had a "swarm" in their tree and they didn't want to kill it. Could I come and get it? I called the guy back. I'm actually out of equipment, but when he told me the swarm had been in the tree for a week and they were building comb, I had to go have a look-see. You see, swarms will only stay anywhere from three hours to three days, and usually do not start building comb.

Honey bees do not do this folks. These honey bees were building a hive on the outside of this tree. This is NOT a swarm. This is what honey bees do, inside a hive. I sent pictures to a beekeeper who is more knowledgeable than I in this area. He felt that the bees probably had built the hive INSIDE the tree, and it got so big they started on the outside. I called my friend and asked her if she wanted to get the bees. She did. The bees would have died when it got cold out if someone wouldn't have got them. They would freeze to death this winter. When she got the bees, there was not a hive in the tree. This is not normal honey bee behavior.

They were actually building a hive on the outside of this tree. If you ever see anything like this, call your local extension office, and hope there is a caring beekeeper in your area. And thanks to these bees, you now get to see what a natural hive looks like.

Peace, (I'm going back to the 70's)

Cindy