Migratory Bees

0) I had quite a surprise this morning when I went into the shed and was greeted by hundreds of bees ... they were not there yesterday evening ... there are no nests.

We have never had a shortage of bees here and, considering we are currently surrounded by blossoms of all sorts (almonds, plum, tangerine, lemon, lime, orange .... the scent is to die for at the moment and permeates the house .... not to mention the various flowering shrubs in bloom) I couldn't imagine why these bees were in the shed ..... :cnfs:

T'other half went onto a local expat forum of which he is a member and asked had anyone else experienced this as it was a first for us. The response given is they are migratory and should be gone within 24 hours ... if they are still here in 3-4 days then we should call a beekeeper to come catch them. In the meantime, it's a bit hairy going in there .... s00k

Does anyone have any thoughts or comments, please?

T'other half just took this pic ....



:thku: in advance.

 

I presume they are honeybees and not bumble bees? About this time of year the swarms will start checking out potential nest sites. If you go in the shed, then most likely they will just move on as they don't like to nick someone else's spot.

Bees also have a rather funny habit of choosing an assembly point before they go out on the daily rounds. Sometimes they will all gather at one spot, and will wait until everyone is there, before going out to work.

The main thing, don't get stressed, panicky or aggressive near them. A bee's 'vision' is as much about scent as it is about light. If you're adrenaline levels go up, they may perceive you as a threat (in nature the smell of adrenaline usually means someone or something is either attacking or being attacked).

And don't take my advice, I'm no expert, I just take a lot of interest in bees and have done much reading and a fair bit of watching.

 

Hi, clueless1, I've just added a picture which you may not have seen.

Could be honeybees as our bumblebees are HUGE to the extreme.

I'm okay and things like that don't panic me ... nor do the meter snakes that slither around ... the shed is call Casa da Cobra (House of the Snake) as we had one live there for a season. :hehe:

 

That's interesting, Sis!

If they decide they like it there and stay on, perhaps you might have to rename the Casa da Cobra the Bee Hive. :D

 

Evening Sis x

That would be A Colméia ... or Casa das Abelhas ... :hehe:

 

Smoke bomb:gnthb:

 

:( Sorry, Babe ... that's not an option if they are actually bees ...

T'other half ventured in there to get some bottled water and said there were two grapefruit-sized 'groups' of them attached to the ceiling (corrugated concrete) but when he went out to lock up an hour ago there was nothing there ... nee-noo, nee-noo ..... :cnfs:

Let's see what tomorrow brings ....

 

Or La Casa Da Bombus

<gasp of horror> You wouldn't really do that would you? Bees are ace.

 

Honey bees looking for a nesting site looks like they have moved on,have you not considered a hive my lady your in an ideal location.

 

Harmless smoke obviously, just enough smog to bog off, sorry buzz off:gnthb:

 

Only one solitary bee today ... either not one of the clan or missed the Exodus ...

It's all very interesting and I must research this .... are they gypsy bees, just roaming from place to place? Shame we didn't get a picture of the clusters.

I don't think beekeeping is for me, walnut .... the countryside is rife with beehives and home made honey in various flavours (Sis likes the Rosemary I think) is readily available everywhere.

What an experience!

 

As some know I also run a pestcontrol business.

The hive regulatly produces queens and every now and then these break off from the hive taking with them a quantity of workers.

It is these that are the swarms you see.

With a beekepers suit on it is very easy to move a swarm on if they have alighted on an acessible branch or similar, you can literally scoop them off into a box and as long as the queen is in there the rest will follow the swarm can then be reelocated. Were possible most pestcontrolers will do this.

with bees in chimneys the best thing is to imediately light a fire and throw some grass on it to make smoke... the longer they are left the more established they will get to the point were they have to be destroyed.

With the shortadge of bees it is always sadening when one has to destroy them and alas this often ocurs once or twice a year.

If you do have a swarm destroyed the pestcontroler should block the entrance holes to prevent another swarm acesssing and contaminating themselves with insecticide. I usually use olbass oil as a scent deterent aswell.

 

Thanks Pro ... we've never seen such in all our years here so it was quite a 'shock' but not something that frightened either of us.

It must be climate change ...