Feral Honey Bee Colony

I was called today, June 22, 2007, to remove this feral colony of honey bees from a grape arbor at a private residence near Sacramento, California. There are five combs, the smallest just a bit larger than a dinner plate. Very gentle bees. I'll come back in the morning with the necessary equipment to transfer them into a permanent hive and move them away from here.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Bees
• Honey
• Swarm
• Honeybees
• Beekeeping
• Sacramento
• 95825

[gopherdude]

Where did the idea of bee's making those round shapped large hives ever come from?

I've never actually seen a round bee hive.

[LETCA]

No explaining the course of nature. An open exposed hive like this one is an aberation. Bees usually prefer an enclosed space. This would have been created only when they were unable to find a suitable space and needed to begin to store food for their future needs. They are fun to watch though.

[rinnycs]

wow that is very cool!!i have a question do bee live in the hive or out side of the hive?

[LETCA]

Bees generally build their hive inside some kind of cavity but will build outside like this where the weather is good. It makes it very difficult for them to defend themselves when they live in the open though. This isn't an optimal arrangment for them. They do better inside a closed area.

[LETCA]

Did you pick up the colony? It's quite a bit trickier than moving a swarm because they've got something to defend! I'd love to talk with you some time.

[eyesofnova]

I have a bee's nest in Antioch about an hour south of Sacramento that if you wanted it you could have it. They have built the same kind of nest. Its huge, about double that size in a tree.

[kittbo]

Wow, that's pretty amazing that they would build out in the open like that. Sure makes them easy to rehive! Thanks for the video.

[LETCA]

"Killer" bees are honey bees; just a different strain. They are managed for honey too in some parts of the world.

It's a great hobby though. I think you'll find it interesting. All the best - -

[boxa888]

very nice!. i am gonna take a class up here in new england . i am really excited about taking the class. raw honey has alot of beneficial abilities, today i read a article showing that bees honey/wax is a much better bandaid than the plastic bandaids becuase of all of the nutrients in the honey and it was used 100s of years ago when there was no bandages. thats pretty cool seeing the turn around. i heard also that honey bees are being destroyed by killer bees which is really sad

[LETCA]

Yeah, they're much too valuable to destory, and, if managed correctly, produce lots of tasty honey!