Honeybee Swarm!
Posted by Cindy on June 2, 2010
Look what I found in a small tree IN MY YARD yesterday!!
(Sorry the closer pictures are a little blurry. You can imagine that I was standing at a distance using the zoom!)
They were only there for a couple of hours and then gone without leaving a trace. I had no idea what was going on until I found this explanation from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Entomology Website.
The short story – This was a swarm of bees looking for a new home. Either their original hive became overcrowded or there was a new queen with her followers. Either way, they were planning for a new place to call home. From this swarm, scout bees were looking for a cavity in which the entire colony could make a new permanent home. Once an acceptable nesting place was found, the scout bees led the rest of the swarm there and out of MY yard!
As scary as it was at the time, it was also utterly amazing and I’m so excited they stopped by for a visit!
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If any of you will be at the Home For His Glory Homeschool Fair and Book Swap in Louisville Friday, be sure to look for the Shining Dawn Books booth. We’ll be there! We’re giving away two of our NaturExplorers units in a door prize, too, so be sure to have your card stamped while you’re visiting!
As someone who writes about people who live on the land, I was thrilled that these bees seem to be surviving the horrible “colony collapse” epidemic.
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So cool! I just read a book last year (historical fiction) where the grandfather found a hive like this and how they captured it and brought it back home. It was like finding the best treasure to find a hive like this. I wish I could remember the name of the book though to share with you!
Oh my…very cool, but I can see how it would be scary too! I’ve got to show your pics. to my kids. They still remember going to a beekeeper’s farm two yrs. ago when we were doing The Bee Tree. They will think this is so neat!
Wish I could come to the homeschool fair in Louisville tomorrow, but we’ve nature club. Have fun!
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Beautiful Swarm!!! Speaking as a beekeeper I feel bad for the beekeeper when she/he found out their bees swarmed. If you ever find a swarm try to find a current beekeeper, they will love you!!!
Great pictures! Also a note, honey bees are not aggressive when they are not protecting a hive. So next time get right up there and take a close up
Wow! Great pictures. I read a book last year about bees called Fruitless Fall by Rowan Jacobsen. The book is about Colony Collapse Disorder and reminds us once again how important bees are to our food system. The beginning of the book had a lot of information on how the hive works. Fascinating!
Thanks,
Sarah
That’s so cool – one of my hubby’s clients had something similar happen, except they stuck around for a couple days. He ended up calling a local bee keeper. The guy brought out boxes for them and comes to check on them routinely now. Awesome pictures.
THat is amazing. We just read about that but I have never seen it in real life. Thanks for being brave enough to get the pictures.
Blessings,
Dawn
Oh my…You are much braver than me!
Looking forward to seeing you Friday!!
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Wow! That’s incredible!!! We found a swarm of bees like that at our park once. I didn’t realize that is what they were doing. Thanks for sharing the photos and info. And, I’m glad no one was hurt in the making of this post.
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That is scary! Glad no one got hurt. But still, facinating. Wish I was close enough to Louisville to come see you!
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