I got Swarmed

[Shadowfax]

Seen it on nature shows but never in real life.

Last Saturday morning at 9am, my wife yells to me that there is a big swarm of bugs in the yard. I have seen little swarms of tiny bugs swirling in the sun from time to time, so I just chuckled and said Yeah, Ive seen it before. She says, No this is different, whatever it is, they are big.

So I look out the window to see what looks like a Tornado in the yard swirling all around a large Cyprus tree in my yard and slowly they all ended up in the tree. At first we thought there was a big nest and scrambled to find and buy the right stuff to deal with a huge nest.

As they settled down I was able to get closer and realized there is no nest, and these were huge Honey Bees and they were just all hanging on each other and crawling all over each other.

I did a little research online and found some pics of what looked exactly the same. It said they swarm around 9am in the morning, hang out for a day, then go off to another spot or a new nest. Early the next morning I saw some fly away in a direction I was happy with and it did not look like they were returning, but the huge swarm was still hanging there. We were busy getting ready to go someplace and at 9:15 I looked again and just like the info said, they were gone and right on time.

The pic below is one of what I took while they were here.

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh507/Hyfi61/beeswarm_zpsa8a3ecee.jpg (http://s1249.photobucket.com/user/Hyfi61/media/beeswarm_zpsa8a3ecee.jpg.html)

[dlb2]

That's just crazy Brian. I wonder what tells them where they will land? Is it something they see or smell? Some built in mechanism, or just what they feel at the time. I guess we may never know.

[Shadowfax]

Apparently, they usually go about 100 feet from original nest, then send out scouts to find a new spot usually about a mile from old home.

In the middle of that swarm is the queen.

[MusicDirector]

Oh man!! I'd be packed up, moved and out of town in two seconds flat if I saw that and that's no joke!!! I have to assume they are Africanized - killers! Bees are all bad in my opinion anyway and I like honey, but would rather not have Bees around. Bees are right up there with snakes as far as I'm concerned.

[Shadowfax]

Oh man!! I'd be packed up, moved and out of town in two seconds flat if I saw that and that's no joke!!! I have to assume they are Africanized - killers! Bees are all bad in my opinion anyway and I like honey, but would rather not have Bees around. Bees are right up there with snakes as far as I'm concerned.

They all freak me out also. Apparently tho, when they are in swarm mode, they have only 1 objective, protect the Queen, and they are not supposed to be aggressive or sting at that time. I'm not gonna be the one to test that theory tho.

Turns out, several people we know have started Bee Keeping for Honey and would have come and taken them away had they stayed any longer.

It's hard to get a handle on it from the picture, but that is about 2 feet in length.

[MusicDirector]

They all freak me out also. Apparently tho, when they are in swarm mode, they have only 1 objective, protect the Queen, and they are not supposed to be aggressive or sting at that time. I'm not gonna be the one to test that theory tho.

Turns out, several people we know have started Bee Keeping for Honey and would have come and taken them away had they stayed any longer.

It's hard to get a handle on it from the picture, but that is about 2 feet in length.

There's something I'll never understand = Beekeepers. I mean to risk your life for a drop of honey...just not worth it to me and I like honey, but not that much.

[dlb2]

I find that honey bees don't really bother you that much. They have a purpose in life, a job to do and they are usually busy taking care of business to mess with us humans. Of course there are always exceptions... Now wasps and hornets, those buggers are just down right nasty. They seem to thrive on pissing people off!

[Mike]

Seen it on nature shows but never in real life.

Last Saturday morning at 9am, my wife yells to me that there is a big swarm of bugs in the yard. I have seen little swarms of tiny bugs swirling in the sun from time to time, so I just chuckled and said Yeah, Ive seen it before. She says, No this is different, whatever it is, they are big.

So I look out the window to see what looks like a Tornado in the yard swirling all around a large Cyprus tree in my yard and slowly they all ended up in the tree. At first we thought there was a big nest and scrambled to find and buy the right stuff to deal with a huge nest.

As they settled down I was able to get closer and realized there is no nest, and these were huge Honey Bees and they were just all hanging on each other and crawling all over each other.

I did a little research online and found some pics of what looked exactly the same. It said they swarm around 9am in the morning, hang out for a day, then go off to another spot or a new nest. Early the next morning I saw some fly away in a direction I was happy with and it did not look like they were returning, but the huge swarm was still hanging there. We were busy getting ready to go someplace and at 9:15 I looked again and just like the info said, they were gone and right on time.

The pic below is one of what I took while they were here.

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh507/Hyfi61/beeswarm_zpsa8a3ecee.jpg (http://s1249.photobucket.com/user/Hyfi61/media/beeswarm_zpsa8a3ecee.jpg.html)

That's crazy!

[ohbythebay]

Just FYI...Bee's are not about honey. Lose the Bee's, we die.

There is a big issue right now with the winter die off of Bee's (almost 50%) which has scientists concerned. If it was one thing they might have an answer but its a combo of pesticides, disease and a parasite. No bee's, no crops.

Yeah, it sucks that there are some that seem to do nothing (yellow jackets...UGGG) but honey bee's should be welcome...:exciting:

The World Impact Of The Bee Die-Off | On Point with Tom Ashbrook (http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/06/05/bee-die-off)

[sharkmouth]

That's just crazy Brian. I wonder what tells them where they will land? Is it something they see or smell? Some built in mechanism, or just what they feel at the time. I guess we may never know.

It's the queen on the move, without her they die.


Oh man!! I'd be packed up, moved and out of town in two seconds flat if I saw that and that's no joke!!! I have to assume they are Africanized - killers! Bees are all bad in my opinion anyway and I like honey, but would rather not have Bees around. Bees are right up there with snakes as far as I'm concerned.

African wasps are bastards, honey bees are gentle & only sting if threatened, wasps on the other hand bite, sting & generally think they are the shitz..Heres something that you can try the next time you see a honey bee. Put your hand down in front of it whether it's on a window sill or outside on a tree, table, where ever, let it crawl onto your finger as most likely it will. 100% of the time it will not sting you unless you threaten it.

[MusicDirector]

Just FYI...Bee's are not about honey. Lose the Bee's, we die.

There is a big issue right now with the winter die off of Bee's (almost 50%) which has scientists concerned. If it was one thing they might have an answer but its a combo of pesticides, disease and a parasite. No bee's, no crops.

Yeah, it sucks that there are some that seem to do nothing (yellow jackets...UGGG) but honey bee's should be welcome...:exciting:

The World Impact Of The Bee Die-Off | On Point with Tom Ashbrook (http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/06/05/bee-die-off)

For me personally, this choice would be a no brainer = I'd chose dying. Telling me that things with stingers and venom and such serve a purpose is the same as telling me I should have a snake as a pet or that hungry Piranha can be friendly and are safe to swim with.

[MusicDirector]

African wasps are bastards, honey bees are gentle & only sting if threatened, wasps on the other hand bite, sting & generally think they are the shitz..Heres something that you can try the next time you see a honey bee. Put your hand down in front of it whether it's on a window sill or outside on a tree, table, where ever, let it crawl onto your finger as most likely it will. 100% of the time it will not sting you unless you threaten it.

*shiver* No thank you!!!!!! I think it would be I'd be better off trying to dart across a 5 lane freeway at it's fastest moment . Besides there is some question that I may be allergic anyway. Probably mild, but none the less....

[Shadowfax]

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh507/Hyfi61/IMG_4526_zps813655bc.jpg (http://s1249.photobucket.com/user/Hyfi61/media/IMG_4526_zps813655bc.jpg.html)