Most of us are a little wary of bees, especially if we’ve been stung before. But some bees are more likely to sting than others. Honey bees are ones that would rather not sting you. Even if you are taking pictures of them.
My son was visiting Thursday night and when he walked out of the house to go home, he said, “What is that on that tree stump?” My husband had cut down a pine that died but he left a tall stump. A swarm of bees thought it a perfect place to take a rest. Of course, my son and I both got excited because we’re sort of nutty about nature and unusual things. And while a bee swarm isn’t that unusual, one right in your front yard at eye level isn’t something that happens every day. Naturally we pulled those phones out of our pockets to take some pictures. The bees didn’t seem to mind as they huddled there together.
But that swarm was really close to the house and a person, as much as he or she appreciates what bees do for us, doesn’t really want to invite them into the attic. A friend of my daughter and her husband have gotten into bees. They have several hives they trapped in the wild. So I put this picture up top on Facebook and also sent her a message.
Pretty soon she’s back in contact and I call her husband who comes on out to see if he can collect the bees. It’s dark by the time he makes the trip across the county and raining lightly. But these bees were handy, right by our driveway where he could put his truck lights on them. He gets on his beekeeping gear because even if you are a beekeeper, stings are no fun. Then he assembles his trapping box by slipping frames in slots in the box. One of them had honeycomb on it. Then he sweeps (yes, with a broom head without a handle) the bees into the box. You can see in the picture that he left the broom by the box since naturally enough some bees stuck were in the broom. I took the picture of the box and broom the next morning.
Anyway, I’m standing out in the rain watching him because I’ve never seen a beekeeper collect bees. My mother said her father had bees once but that was before my time. She said he wore a hat when he worked with the bees, but not the kind of beekeeping gear they wear these days.
Of course, I have questions. Don’t we all? I ask if he got the queen bee. I do know that if you want to have a happy bee hive, you have to have a queen. He said the queen was probably in the middle of the swarm where she could be protected.
Then he said that yes, he knew he got her since some of the bees were on the doorstep into the box waggling their wings as a way to tell those still flying around that she was here and they should come on into the box too. I didn’t see it that night since I was a little leary of getting that close to bees flying around after they’d just been swept off a tree trunk. I thought they might be a bit upset and I didn’t have on beekeeping gear. But the next day, I did see that doorstep and bees going in and out of the box.
Honeybees have a dance move called the ‘waggle dance’. It’s not actually a dance move at all, rather a clever way of communicating between themselves to tell their nestmates where to go to find the best source of food.
I guess they have a waggle dance to say “the queen is here” too.
John, the beekeeper left the box all day beside the tree stump. When he came back the next afternoon, he thought most of the bees would be in the box because of the cool temperature and late time of the day. He put on his protective gear again and this time used his smoker because for some reason smoke can calm bees and beekeepers often use a smoker when collecting honey or moving a hive. He shooed in a few late arrivers and got out his duct tape to tape up the door and the top on. He said he always used high quality duct tape. No cheap stuff. He didn’t like the idea of hitting a bump that might knock off the lid and have all those angry bees in his truck. Sounded sensible to me.
He sent this picture when he got the bees home. He will leave the bees in the collecting box for a week or so and then moved them into a bigger box. He says the queen probably started laying eggs right away and he would move them after her eggs were established in the frame. So my bees found a new home with some enthusiastic beekeepers who want to make sure we still have bees.
In case you are as curious as I am, here are a few more bee facts.
Hives have queen bees, worker bees, and drone bees. Queens and worker bees are all female. Drone bees are all male. A drone bee’s only job is to mate with the queen to create new bees. Worker bees clean the hive, collect pollen and nectar to feed to the whole colony, and take care of the babies.
If the queen bee dies in a honeybee hive the workers can create a new queen bee. They do this by selecting a young larva and feeding it special food called ‘royal jelly’ to make the larva develop into a fertile queen.
My beekeeper friend said they often select several young larva and the best queen or maybe the first to develop wins the queen status.
The buzz you hear around a bee is the sound of their wings beating thousands of times per minute.
Honey bees can only sting once. Their stingers are barbed and tear off when they try to get away. This kills them.
So you can truly say that their sting might hurt them more than it hurts you.
Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading global crops depend on animal pollination.
And so, if you happen to see a bee, just let it keep on about its business of pollinating flowers and plants, and you might say thanks! I like this picture of a bee with pollen laden legs that I accidentally caught in a picture once.
Are you a beekeeper or ever know a beekeeper?
Comments 16
I was so happy John was able to get there in time! I wish I could’ve been there to help. We’ll keep you posted on your bees and their progress! And of course, a jar of delicious honey!
Author
That would be great to know how the bee colony is doing, Debbie. It was neat watching John collect the bees. I enjoyed talking to him about beekeeping and bees. He says you are having fun being a beekeeper too.
A friend of ours had the common, white, boxed hives, for awhile. It also seems like a neighbor has a couple of beehives out in his field.
Author
It’s good to have bees in your neighborhood, Jolynn, especially if you have flowers and fruit trees.
We took beekeeping classes as we wanted bees but the cost to get started was pretty pricey so we haven’t done it yet. I would love to. I find them fascinating.
Author
I never thought about being a beekeeper, Lucy, but I hope you’ll be able to do so sometime. The more beekeepers, the better.
We have a friend that lives about a mile away from us that keeps bees. We called him when we had a swarm to attach under the eve of our house one evening. Some of them even made it into the house through cracks and crevices. It was getting near dark, so he said he would come back the next day to get them. He told us it was possible they were just resting and would be gone the next day. Sure enough, the next morning they had traveled on to somewhere else. That was bad for him though since he was wanting another hive of bees.
Author
I figured these were just resting, Connie. That’s why I told my friend that he’d best come that night to get them since they were super accessible. He did and got to start a new colony. I didn’t want any of the swarm in the house. I’m all for the bees but want them out in trees or somebody’s bee house.
Our son-in-law is a beekeeper. He collected two swarms last week.
His honey is absolutely delicious.
I add some of his honey, some butter, and some cream cheese to whole kernel corn. It is so yummy,
Author
That does sound good, Sharon. I love sweet corn however it’s sweetened. 🙂 Nice to have a supply of honey in your family.
No I have not. I must admit that when I see bees together they give me an uneasy feeling though I know they are needed and have a job to do. I thank those who are able and willing to take care of bees for the sake of all of us.
Author
My husband is not a fan of being very close to bees either, Pamela. I don’t worry that much about honey bees since they do seem to have more on their mind than stinging you, but some other bees and wasps can be a little too ready to protect their space. I have been stung numerous simes by wasps.
My dad, who would have been 105 had he lived, was a beekeeper for several years when I was a child. I was fascinated and he gave me his beekeeping gear when I was in my late 20s. I only had two colonies for about a year or so and then passed on my bees to another beekeeper. I could not afford all the equipment to harvest the honey and take care of three young children. I did collect two swarms during that time and so this brought back many memories for me.
Because God created these amazing insects to sweeten our diets and pollinate so many of our foods we truly get to live in a land flowing with milk and honey! And that is why we must continue to be good stewards! ❤️🐝❤️
Author
Thanks for sharing about your beekeeping history, Rebecca. Sounds like you know about bees. Glad my piece brought back some good memories for you. We do need to be good stewards of the land we have and the bees we need.
My dad kept bees, and my husband and I had a couple of hives until he had a couple of allergic reactions to the bee stings.
Author
An allergy to bee stings pretty much closes the door on being a beekeeper, doesn’t it, Diana? But sounds as if you have beekeeping history.