Bees

[fortune]

We heard a loud buzzing and the sky was heavy with a lot of insects. The dog and us soon got inside. we noticed what looked like bunches of brown grapes in the tops of the tall fir tree hedge over the road. Later they seemed to have moulded into one large mass with loads buzzing around it. I looked with Binos and my range scope and can see it but can't make out that it is bees. Will they stay there or will they find somewhere else to set up permanent home? Is it possible that they are Hornets? Do Hornets act like this? Bees no problem Hornets are a safety risk if disturbed. We have grandchildren that play in the garden. Have we got new neighbours or Will they move to a different location. We have no problems with them where they are at the moment.

[manthing]

If you phone your local bee keeping society they can probably give you all the relevant information, it does sound like a swarm of bees as hornets are normally much smaller colonies I think.

[old'un]

Its more than likely a bee swarm, this is the time of year that they swarm, they will stay there while scouts go out looking for a possible nesting site, once they have found one they will move off.

They are generally passive while swarming, as manthing says get in touch with your local bee-man (google it) or your local police will have numbers for them.

[fortune]

Well, they arrived yesterday and they weathered out the storm last night and are still in residence this morning. I have had another look and although I can see them I still can't make out what they are exactly. They are high up in the top of a fir tree hedge and if I get closer the angle is such that I can't see them. They seem to have settled down a fair bit and People wouldn't notice that there is a great mass of bees up above them as they walk along the pavement. We have no problem with them making home there. I wonder if they will move down into the orchards behind because there is a lot more blossom and food flowers down that way and right in the middle of the orchards is a big forked tree in which there was a bees nest. This nest was operational every year until about four years ago when it appeared to have been distroyed by Hornets who built a colony in the base of a tree stump in the wood. It would be nice to think that the bees over the road would move down and take up residence in that tree again so that they could buzz around in the orchards and fields beyond.

[wisdom]

When I kept bees I was kept busy at this time of year collecting swarms.As others have said contact a local beekeeper for advice and possible collection depending how high up they are.They may settle lower which would make collection easier.

[old'un]

You can attract bee swarms by using an old hive containing a few used combs which give off a scent, its surprising how quickly they find these empty hives and take up residence, there are about 20 or 30 thousand bee's in a swarm and to give you some idea of size it will be about the size of a football or sometimes bigger, they will not feed in the orchards while swarming, they do sometimes build open nests in trees but as a rule they like to-be indoors.

 

Contact your local bee man, he will thank you for it and you might get a jar of honey, try this....https://www.bbka.org.uk/help/do_you_have_a_swarm.php

Edited May 29, 2017 by old'un

[Mice!]

Great to watch if they are bees, we had some in a compost bin couple years ago, the fruit did great that year.

 

Also had a swarm between gardens didn't hang around long but good to watch, from a distance

[fortune]

The swarm is about the size of a medium bucket and they are over the road in the top of a neighbours tall fir tree hedge. Probably about 10 >> 12 foot up. It is next to a main road so it would be very difficult to get up there and move it. Anyway they are doing what they are doing and will carry on doing it without any help from humans. I don't think that I would ever contemplate getting up there medling about with them. It will be interesting to see if and when they decide to move on.

Edited May 29, 2017 by fortune

[Mice!]

They were quite low down in our garden just appeared, neighbour ran off to call council who said to call a bee keeper, we just watched from a distance only hung around for an hour or so probably the queen having a rest then off they went.

[fortune]

The thing is that it is a natural happening and the bees are quite capable of doing their own thing. I did read about how a swarm landed on a pushbike somewhere in Essex and some bright spark thought that two cans of fly spray was the answer!! If the bees decide to stay there, that's ok, if they move somewhere else, that's​ ok. Now that they have settled down no one would know that they are up there. I'm sure that any bee keeper wants to collect the swarms because it is free material to work with. I knew of one bloke who thought that he could earn mega money by having dozens of hives right next to other peoples ​houses. The people got some sort of injunction against him sitting the hives right on their boundaries. He got the hump about this and sold up and moved off down the West country somewhere.

[Walker570]

I was very lucky to capture a swarm from one of our hives a couple of weeks ago. I was cutting the grass on the ride in the wood and then noticed a swarm had settled only a couple of yards from one of the hives. There was a cold wind and I think the queen had settled as a result. It was hanging in a small bush, so easy to get at, snipped off a few branches to get in to them and then a sharp shake of the branch they were on and they dropped into the large plastic bucket below. Set up a small hive with a few old frames and tipped them in. The ones now flying soon smelt where the queen was and now they are settled in a new full size hive and working away just about 10ft from their original home.

They take in as much honey as they can before swarming and are reluctant to sting but also find it difficult to bend their abdomen to sting because they are so full of food.

To see a large swarm in full flight is quite an experience if you have not seen it before. Just stand still and they will not hurt you.

 

On the subject of bees ... we now have some continental bumbles which have a distinctive white tip and the drones mass outside the nest site, unlike our bumbles. Keep your distance and don't disturb because they have evil tempers. Try not to kill the nest if you can and it is safe, all bees help with pollination. They will disappear after a few weeks.