Beehive

[CaliforniaPeggy]

My gardener spotted this beehive today...

He said that the queen settled there, but she most likely won't stay...the location is too warm for them...

But it still makes a cool pic!

Enjoy!



And here's some others too, just for fun:

[petronius]

1. To be totally pedantic, that's more of a swarm than a hive

The colony is clustered around the queen, while scouts are out searching for a new home.

Cool picture!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear petronius!

Oh, OK! I appreciate the clarification!

Normally I am freaked out by bees, but somehow these didn't bother me...

I felt happy that they were here...go figure!

The swarm looks bigger than it is, since I used a bit of my zoom to get close...

Thanks!

:hi:

[petronius]

10. With all the negative news about bee populations, it really is nice to see

a healthy colony doing its thing. And as long as they don't settle in your house or something like that, they'll be good to have in the neighborhood.

I think they're generally pretty docile when they're swarming, as long as you don't spray them with pesticide or poke them with a stick (the pinata suggestion is right out... :))

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. I don't plan to get any closer than my camera!

No pesticides here, or sticks either!

:hi:

[FloridaJudy]

29. Yup. My neighbor was a bee keeper

And he'd collect all the swarms in the neighborhood. He did it bare-handed, and rarely got stung. Huge bear of a man, but he was delicate and gentle with his small charges, and seemed to do just fine without a bunch of protective gear.

[sarge43]

33. They're usually not in hostile mode when they're swarming.

When he can get to the swarm, my husband merely sweeps them with soft bristled brush into a bucket and returns them to a new starter hive. The girls are cool with it.

In most cases they swarm due to overcrowding in their old hive. If the keeper doesn't stay on top of things and check hive condition frequently, the queen can run out cells to lay the eggs and she outta there.

[applegrove]

5. Yup. Neat picture.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Thank you, my dear applegrove!

[mike_c]

21. yep-- honey bees don't build exposed hives like that....

It's a swarm. Very cool.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. My dear mike_c!

So I'm told!

It is very cool...I'd never seen one before!

:hi:

[cloudbase]

2. That's an Aggie pinata. nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. My dear cloudbase...

On edit: OK, now I know what you mean! Nope, not going to happen!

:hi:

[Taverner]

6. Honey bees!

Good to see them again

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear Taverner!

I am glad to see them too...

I just hope they're not Africanized...:scared:

They're so important for pollinating...

We don't use any pesticides, so these bees won't ingest anything poisonous...

Thanks for coming by!

:hi:

[cabbage08]

7. Cool picture n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Glad you like it, my dear cabbage08! (nt)

[Inchworm]

8. Love the bee swarm!!

Bees are cool when they do that :)

:hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. My dear Inchworm!

I've never seen them do this before...

It IS cool!

Thanks, sweetie!

:hi:

[coffeenap]

11. So great to see honeybees--and what beautiful flowers!

:-)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. My dear coffeenap!

I was really happy to see them too...

Thanks for the compliments, sweetie!

:hi:

[Ptah]

17. beehive II

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. My dear Ptah...

That sure is!

I remember those hair styles...

:hi:

[sammythecat]

19. Nice

That's a real interesting picture. Very nice detail. I've never seen that in real life. I saw a cloud of them swarming in the air once, I guess they were getting ready to do what's in your photo. And it is nice to see them. The few times I see them anymore it's just one or a few. Years ago I remember them being everywhere.

BTW, was that taken with a telephoto lens or are you nuts? :)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

20. My dear sammythecat!

Lol! Some would say I'm nuts, and it's probably true! I did use a little bit of telephoto for this pic. The lens is 18 to 250 mm, and I had it out nearer the 250 end.

Besides, the shrubbery is pretty dense there, and it's hard to walk in closely. If you look, you can just see a bit of light on the bees. The camera decided it needed some fill flash, and that helped too...

I've never seen this before either, and since my gardener felt the bees would soon be gone, I wanted to record them before they left.

Thanks!

:hi:

[sarge43]

23. They won't stay. Scouts will try to find a suitable place to start a new hive.

They'll starve if they don't start producing combs and honey soon.

Unfortunately they probably won't.

Do you know of any commercial or hobbyist beekeepers in your area? Almost certainly the swarm came from one or the other. There are few feral honey bees left. Again, very few places left for them.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. I have seen some beekeepers around here...

But not in a while, and I don't remember just where I saw them...

That makes me sad. I hope they can find a suitable place and make a home...

There are many flowers in my yard; perhaps they're living off the nectar from here? My jacaranda tree is blooming too...

Thanks for the info, even if it is sad...

:hi:

[sarge43]

32. They can't live on nectar. They gather the nectar to make honey.

Those tiny bodies are amazing chemical factories. Not only honey, but hive wax and the subtle chemicals that can activate the dormant princesses when the old queen checks out. We won't even get into pheromones.

They need a hive for storage of honey and pollen which the larva live on. They also need comb for storage of the larva. A worker bee's life span is about 2 months. They have to be replaced quickly which why a healthy young queen will lay up to a thousand eggs a day. (Pausing here while all the women groan in sympathy.)

It is very sad and also frightening. An important part of our world may be dying.

[Skittles]

24. you want I should kick some beehive ass, Ms. Peggy?

I'll throw in your gardener as a freebie

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. No thanks, my dear Skittles!

These guys are struggling as it is...

See the post just above...

:hi:

[Roon]

27. Peggy? Whatever you do....

just "bee" careful....

[CaliforniaPeggy]

28. My dear Roon!

LOL! No worries, sweetie!

See sammythecat's remark above...

I don't plan to get close to these critters!

:rofl:

[FloridaJudy]

30. That second picture looks as if the plant

Was designed by Dr. Seuss. Lovely photographs, Peggy. You're a multi-talented woman.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

31. My dear FloridaJudy!

It does rather have that look, doesn't it? Hey, I just point the camera, and it does the work...

Thanks, sweetie...

:hug:

[UrbScotty]

34. I love it, my dear CaliforniaPeggy!

:D

[CaliforniaPeggy]

35. Thank you so much, my dear UrbScotty!

I'm glad you do...

:hi:

[LibraLiz1973]

36. I would have peed my pants and run screaming

I am allergic and that is a horrifying sight!! lol.
Great picture though Peggy! Your camera work is lovely

[CaliforniaPeggy]

37. My dear LibraLiz1973!

Normally, I'm totally with you! But somehow, this time, the sight of these bees didn't scare me at all...

Glad you enjoyed the pictures!

I do get lucky from time to time, lol...

Thanks, sweetie...

:hug:

[libodem]

38. Wow

That is so cool. Nice photography, too.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

39. My dear libodem!

I would never have seen it if my gardener hadn't shown me...

Thanks, sweetie...

:hug:

[libodem]

40. You're welcome

Nice garden, too. I've got several clumps of Columbine going and a white Clematis starting to bloom right behind it. I'm supposed to be getting my mother's day, present of a digital camera, so maybe I'll finally learn to take pictures. I thought I'd figure it out with the scanner on the printer. but nooo.