Heres what I saw land in my tree today.
It actually came across my yard engulfed me while I was working out there passed by then alighted in the tree.
A neighbor of mine who is a beekeeper came over and got them and took them home.
Printable View
Heres what I saw land in my tree today.
It actually came across my yard engulfed me while I was working out there passed by then alighted in the tree.
A neighbor of mine who is a beekeeper came over and got them and took them home.
I'm sorry, I have to do this...
I'M COVERED IN BEEEEEEES!!!
*ahem*
What a lovely swarm. :D
:roflmao:roflmao:roflmao:roflmao
Cool, nice to see you didn't just call in the exterminators like some people do. :)
I used to keep bees and collect swarms a few years back, I'm too busy to do it these days (and don't have a big enough garden for beehives) but I plan to get back into it again one day.
Was that some sort of vacuum contaption the beekeeper used? Looks pretty neat.
I used to hate some of the swarm collections I did, in inacessable roofs, walls, inside illuminated signs above shopping centres etc. I could have done with a device like that! :D
Like steelforge, I used to keep bees, they absolutely fascinate me. About a month ago I had a swarm in a tree in the front yard, and alas all my hives and equipment were in storage elsewhere! It did make the blood boil. I am assuming the contraption that the beekeeper had in the pics was some kind of vacuum.(?) What an ingenious idea, damn sure beats the old ways, 5 gallon bucket, smoker and a soft brush. The only negative thing I can say about bees and beekeeping is that they always seem to go for the eyes.:roflmao Loved te vid by the way.
Yea! its a Dirt Devil hand vac motor and housing mounted to the top of a wooden box with a couple of screens inside to give the bees a foothold and keep them out of the motor plus a plexi front so you can see how you are doing. Then he just mounted a long hose on it to suck up the swarm. We would have much rather cut the branch they were on and just carried the whole thing to his house but it was to large and to high to cut down. In the pictures he's on a twelve foot step ladder standing in the bed of his pick-up to get it high enough.
He's done a couple of wall removals and found that it is good for getting them out of the combs once you open the wall and can get to them.
Its a good thing those weren't giant hornets or you and the beekeeper would have been in a world of hurt.
I read somewhere that bees were starting to disappear for no appearant reason. some kind os hive disorder. anyone know more about this?
From what I hear its hitting the larger apiaries, but doesnt seem to bother the smaller ones, just a personal observation. If some one knows more I would be glad to hear it.
Just as well they weren't Africanised.
I'm like a big Jessy when it comes to bees. I run a mile when they come near me. It's an irrational phobia.
Lucky for us, we don't have the aggressive species here.
I once saw a documentary about hornets. Truly frightening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by poona
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruno
Hornets would scare the hell out of me too. We have a ton of Yellow Jackets so I'm pretty used to them.
As I understand it even Africanized ones aren't aggressive when they are swarming. They are to busy searching for a new house and don't have any young to take care of so they don't care about much so they don't sting.
I remember when I was little we had a large swarm of them in one of our trash cans on the side of our house, ended up having a beekeeper come and collect them.
Giant Hornets are native to Southern Japan and kill quite a few people each year. I remember years ago when I was there walking down a strret in some small town I heard what sounded like a helicopter overhead and all of a sudden people just start running leaving the area all except me of course and suddenly this thing lands on the sidewalk in front of me. It was the biggest and meanest looking bee I ever saw in my life. It must have been at least 5 inches. I got the message fast.They are kind of like the Tyrannosauris Rex of the insect world. I've seen one dispatch and eat a preying mantis in seconds.
[quote=thebigspendur;218655]It was the biggest and meanest looking bee I ever saw in my life. It must have been at least 5 inches. quote]
i saw a discovery channel program about those things, way cool, they can take about 6-10 of them and destroy an entire hive of regular old bees.
used to have a guy back home who was a bee keeper and we used to get honey form him all the time now the stuff in the stores just doesnt cut it anymore, there is nothing like honey straight from the bees