Not a photo worthy of any kind of technical merit. I was hiding behind my quince tree and the grape vine was annoyingly preventing a clear shot.
Last Saturday my hubby told me the bees from his strongest hive were gone. Absconded. Not a good thing to happen. He doesn't know why - his hives are in excellent condition and there is plenty of food.
The answer arrived on Sunday. I was at home with my two dogs. Once of them has figured out how to open the patio door, and will let himself out if he wants to potty. He did this unbeknownst to me. When I walked into the family room there were several dozen bees in the house. My first thought was to try and shoo them out but there were thousands of them outside and all round the house and over my hummingbird feeders.
I ended up having to vacuum the ones in the house (and yes I was freaked out - I don't like insects in my house, particularly ones with either stingers or eight legs).
When my hubby got home he went to the hive and the picture shows what he found. These are known as robber bees. They infiltrate a hive and drive off the native bees to steal the honey. He had removed about 50bs of honey leaving about 25lbs. In 8-10 hours the robbers bees stripped the frames of the honey and were gone.
These were not aggressive to us - but after a few dive-bombed my head I left (I was probably in the flight path).
Not a great shot but I thought some of you may be interested in the story.
@nanalisarocks - yeah - I didn't like it, Lisa. @genesis_one - Corrie used a little cannister vac we have for small jobs - it has a little disposable bag in it. My hubby disposed of it. The robber bees are not to be encouraged. Generally bees are extremely hard working, but if they don't have good stores for the winter they will kill and steal from other hives. I had never even heard of this. So much to learn. Now my hubby has changed the entry holes to a 1/2" wide - this way the guard bees can defend the hive against intruders. He had all of them wide open. Last year he didn't close the gap until the first frost. Our hive had maybe 50,000 bees in it. My understanding is that they won't come back. Next spring we will get more.
@swilde - Keith (hubby) was not so happy about it. More than anything he was surprised. He has since talked to others it's happened to - but I don't think that is much solace. It's a learning experience, though!
Love a good bee story. I had no idea, so thanks! Yes, bees are so important. We had a different kind of bee in our garden this year. They behaved and all, but it worries me that the usual bees weren't here.
@pamknowler - Pam I was freaked when they were in the house - I was on the phone yakking with my sister in Cornwall and she probably still has ringing ears. My hubby was at church (I stayed at home that day) and didn't have his cell phone turned on. Finally called my son who suggested the vacuum. @anazad511 - thanks, Ana. @twistergirl - Thanks Doris. The bees are always fine in the garden - I never worry about them. Hmmm - I wonder what kind of bees you did have that you don't see now? It could be that a local beekeeper lost his hive and didn't get more honeybees. @grammyn@cazann - Thanks Katy and Caz. We still have three hives but they were new this year so hadn't been built up yet. If they get through the winter they should do OK next year. @eu4ria1 - thanks Ria. No - not big at all. We were amazed! We weren't taking any more honey off the hive - it was there to get them through the winter. Many beekeepers remove the honey and feed the bees sugar water but we leave them honey.
October 15th, 2013
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
@genesis_one - Corrie used a little cannister vac we have for small jobs - it has a little disposable bag in it. My hubby disposed of it. The robber bees are not to be encouraged. Generally bees are extremely hard working, but if they don't have good stores for the winter they will kill and steal from other hives. I had never even heard of this. So much to learn. Now my hubby has changed the entry holes to a 1/2" wide - this way the guard bees can defend the hive against intruders. He had all of them wide open. Last year he didn't close the gap until the first frost. Our hive had maybe 50,000 bees in it. My understanding is that they won't come back. Next spring we will get more.
@anazad511 - thanks, Ana.
@twistergirl - Thanks Doris. The bees are always fine in the garden - I never worry about them. Hmmm - I wonder what kind of bees you did have that you don't see now? It could be that a local beekeeper lost his hive and didn't get more honeybees.
@grammyn @cazann - Thanks Katy and Caz. We still have three hives but they were new this year so hadn't been built up yet. If they get through the winter they should do OK next year.
@eu4ria1 - thanks Ria. No - not big at all. We were amazed! We weren't taking any more honey off the hive - it was there to get them through the winter. Many beekeepers remove the honey and feed the bees sugar water but we leave them honey.