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I guess the bottom rung bees struck out on their own in a swarm from some unknown main hive, or were rather more likely evicted for their poor planning policies and were ousted for the sake of evolutionary strength, genetics and the like.
despite their happy-go-lucky, and might I add stereotypically buzzy busy-ness and cutewarmfuzzy bee huddling at night, the bees with the tin foil hats likely could not join this swarm, and so these bees had no advisors when setting up their satellite campsite... against a gas can and the side of the house.
my questions are these:
1. do you know anyone who has a bee box in the sf bay area that they don't want? and no nasty old CCD-infested shit either por favor!
2. mmm honey! ok, so what, not a question!?
3. how many stings does it take before one develops an allergy to bee stings?
4. do bees just not know how to NOT make hives against movable objects, nor on the ground where to be easily eaten by predators?
5. why do we call spelling bees "spelling bees" if bees can't spell for shit? well, maybe I could give them some credit, perhaps they just can't READ the gas can...silly me.
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Re: stingers, buzzing, gasoline and shit like that
Thu, June 5, 2008 - 9:19 AMI think the bees with the tin foil hats all ran off to the sudden hive collapse syndrome conference.... Pretty soon they may be the only bees left ;0
my questions are these:
1. do you know anyone who has a bee box in the sf bay area that they don't want? and no nasty old CCD-infested shit either por favor!
I've got one further north if you no someone traveling up/down 101. Only reason I have extra is I'm planning to switch to top bar hives which seem like they will suit my style and budget much better. Look into it, maybe you can slap one together.
2. mmm honey! ok, so what, not a question!?
Oh yeah! (?)
3. how many stings does it take before one develops an allergy to bee stings?
More than can fit in a tootsie pop. This is case by case. Having been stung a lot and also stung myself a lot intentionally (bee venom therapy, a fascinating subject), I'm somewhat familiar with this topic. A person can become allergic at any time. It is best to use caution, but most people are not allergic and never become allergic. The moderate amount of stinging you are likely to receive tending bees is not anything to lose sleep over. The big accidents are the ones that kill people (rare) or cause them to develop an allergy. I met one guy who almost died in a dropped hive accident (that's the big bad accident to watch out for). He is allergic now. Michael Simics of apitronics claims to have desensitized himself after becoming allergic, with regular tiny injections of bee venom. Most people who think they are allergic aren't actually at all. Red swelling and localized itching reactions are very common for people who haven't been stung very much. After a number of stings, this reaction tends to subside completely and you just get a very small local reaction. Difficulty breathing and other systemic reactions are caused by anaphylaxis and that's dangerous to be sure, but I've run into lots of people who think they are allergic because they get strong localized reactions. Overall, I'd say that getting stung by bees is good for you and it's a pretty common folk remedy, especially for arthrits, but more recently being used for "autoimmune" diseases especially MS.
4. do bees just not know how to NOT make hives against movable objects, nor on the ground where to be easily eaten by predators?
From reading and stuff I understand that they occasionally make nests in dumb places. Usually it's said that it's because they can't find a home quick enough, but that may just bee out of loyalty to the bees. Maybe some of them are just stupid. They do only have a limited amount of resources to live on till they just have to start building a new place.. still, it's hard to believe that they couldn't do better than that. You'll probably have to cut the comb they have and attach it to the frames so that they don't lose the resources they've got and have to start over. Feed them for a while anyway and keep an eye on them through the winter. Should be a jolly good time if you don't have previous experience :) I'd definitely be wearing a bee suit on that one.
5. why do we call spelling bees "spelling bees" if bees can't spell for shit? well, maybe I could give them some credit, perhaps they just can't READ the gas can...silly me.
Maybe you should just open the gas can and see if they sit around sniffing it all day. I think that would indicate that they are like trasher bees. Then maybe leave out some crank and twinkies. If they get all over that shit that would pretty much give you THEIR number. Then you can just get them an old trailer or some broken appliances and they'll probably move right in. Won't even have to get a hive! some blue tarps might help too. You can just feed them speed for a year to get as much out of them as you can before their little society falls apart.
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Re: stingers, buzzing, gasoline and shit like that
Thu, June 5, 2008 - 9:27 AMAre they still there? Sometimes they find a place for a little while, then rule it unsuitable and move on. If you really need to move them, you can suck them up with a shop vac at night and release them elsewhere (a wet/dry tub type vac.. not a regular home vac). If you don't have a suit, be prepared to get a couple of stings, but this adds excitement to the whole thing. You should at least have a bonnet.
I have never heard of anyone becoming allergic to bee stings. In fact, most bee keepers become less sensitive to the stings over time, and bee stings are actually supposed to have benefits such as preventing arthritis.
Now I have a question for you-
If Africanized Bees are defecting to America, should we then call them African Americanized Bees? -
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Unsu...
Re: stingers, buzzing, gasoline and shit like that
Thu, June 5, 2008 - 2:09 PMI've been doing bee removal as a business for about 20 years and although I've seen bees build colonies in many "inconvenient" places...I've never seen them set up in "stupid" places. Later in the season when available housing is in shorter supply....they sometimes move into less than desirable abodes, but their choices always seek to provide them shelter and protection from predators. They prefer enclosed cavities with a crack or small entry hole....so walls in buildings work well in lieu of hollow oak trees. One time I removed a bee colony from the center of a thorny pyracantha bush that was so thick that it effectively created a canopy shelter that was impervious to intruders.
Infrequently, if I'm doing a job and have a difficult time getting the bees to move out of a wall I may get frustrated and accuse them of being stupid, but then some little twist becomes apparent and I then realize that there was just some misunderstanding on my part of the wisdom and reasons behind their behavior. Some people vacuum bees like Scottie suggested (in reference to a possible swarm that could be moved) but I prefer to remove them from walls with a technique that is more in harmony and works with the bees. I think it's easier to work with a colony of 40,000 or more individuals by figuring out how to convince them to want the same desired outcome as us....instead of trying to get them to do what they don't want to do. :-D
It's sort of difficult to tell from your "poetic first paragraph" the specific details of the situation, but if the bees are located against the side of a building....99 percent of the time they will be going into a hole or crack into the wall or some other cavity of the building. If the gas can hasn't been used and is of larger size...maybe they are going in the can?....or an empty box set beside the wall?
If they are going into the wall of your house...after the first 24 hours it becomes more difficult to get them out. It's sort of like if you bought property and started building a house....you're less likely to leave after you've invested time, energy, and equity. Bees don't foreclose on their investment unless it burns up....or the bee mover opens the wall and moves their furniture, queen, and babies into a new home. :-D
So unless you happen to have a swarm that has settled somewhere near your house, you're not going to be able to remove the bees from a wall simply with a hive body and a few frames of comb. Without more information it's difficult to be sure what's going on, but those are a few possible scenarios.
"African Americanized bees"....I like the play on words.....sort of like first cousin once removed?
Unfortunately, bees don't know borders, but it does seem that the tropical Africanized bees haven't found out about thermal underwear and 24 hour grocery stores, and consider our northern climate and dearth bloom periods inhospitable to their backpacking ways.
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