I'm this close to getting bees again. But the days roll by and I don't make the phone call to order a nuc* so maybe I don't really want a hive again. My hesitation is about the irrational worry that the bees will sting someone and cause a serious reaction.
But I like the look of the beehive in my backyard. I moved it about 5 feet farther away from my house (compared to the location of my previous hive). And it's facing slightly more away from the back of the house, more southeast, which is fine. But the hive entrance doesn't face a nice open area like my first hive -- I have to think of a name for that hive... I never understood why people named their hives but now I do.
Meanwhile, under our back porch are these bee holes and I don't know what kind of bees are using them. They are not yellow jackets but they might be miner bees. But they are larger than honeybees and I've read that miner bees are the size of honeybees. They aren't very aggressive but they buzz around just enough to let you know that they know you're on their turf. Harmless. But what are they? They move way too fast for me to get a picture. Last year they were gone by mid-summer I think.
*The term “nuc” is short for nucleus colony. A nucleus colony is just a very small colony of a few thousand bees and a queen.
4 comments:
How exciting if you get another hive. I'm trying to decide if I want to keep going with our two. Recently the bees have gotten a bit feisty and I too am afraid of someone getting stung. The swarming also makes me nervous. I wish I lived in the country.
Interesting bee hive/holes. I've never seen that before.
Those holes may be from mason bees. My understanding is they lay eggs in them. I think about bees but am waiting until I retire - I have too many things going on as it is. Like you, I worry about people (including me!) getting stung.
Of our two hives (named tan and blue for obvious reasons), blue is in trouble. I'll update my pathetic blog with some pictures the next time we go in. I'm not sure they still have a queen, of if they do, if she's healthy. It's discouraging.
I've found swarms before but I never had the nerve to collect them. I did, however, search for a beekeeper so they could collect it. Maybe Fate will cross your path with a wild swarm?
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