Wednesday, October 25, 2006
BEE INVASION!
2006 10 24- 5:30pm- A swarm of bees just invaded! I stepped out in the yard to try to soak up a bit of sun and get warm, and I heard this incredible buzzing sound as if the air itself were vibrating. I looked over and there was like a 30 foot diameter cloud of swarming insects in my yard. In the sun, they showed as white spots moving rapidly in the air. I went in to grab my camera and when I got back out, the cloud had made its way over to my shed. They stayed there, and some landed near the base and started working their way in through any available crack or gap while the rest continued the swirling flight about the area. Have no idea what kind. Do you?
:)
UPDATE:
"About those bees ... Now I am probably being paranoid here watching too much Animal Planet but you don't think they could be the Africanized bees do you? (Killer Bees). It's curious how they came in a swarm like that unless someone nearby has hives that were disturbed? I don't know it just seemed odd the way you described them coming. At any rate be careful especially when you have to de-bee your shed. You really don't need to have a swarm of pissed off bees taking on after you!"
Me paranoid too! I was thinking the same thing... except, then I realized they were NOT coming after me, even when I was close. There have been some linemen working the area this week cutting down all sorts of trees and brush and I am thinking they destroyed a nest somewhere and this is a hive looking for a new home.
Last night after dark (and COLD!!!! 40!!!) I hit the crack with the remains of a can of hornet spray (that I keep in the shed!!!) and this morning I found a few dozen dead outside the crack. Not sure if it killed them all- well, actually, I know at least one survived as he was buzzing around me when I went to look... Appreciate the concern! Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!! It really was an amazing sound experience!
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"We have had problems in years past with yellow jackets in the ground. Those things are nasty. More than once my kids have been attracted by them and the thing is, their hives aren't noticeable until you are right on top of it and by then they are so enraged they swarm! We had a huge nest that we discovered two years ago that was about six feet long under ground (this we discovered because the ground literally "gave way" in that spot due to all the bees activity). We went through several cans of spray before we finally decided to set it afire! Even then it took three burns to get the whole nest destroyed and the bees gone." ~Christine
I don't blame you for killing the bees: they can be very destructive. It's just that they are dying off from a mite and we really need them for pollination." ~Mary
"Many years ago, I watched a friend take care of some hornets or something with a nest in the ground. He poured about a gallon of diesel down the hole, taped an M-80 to a broom stick, lit it, and shoved it down the hole. In the explosion, the flames went up about four feet and took long enough to burn out that all the neighbors could come out and stare. There were a few confused hornets looking for their nest, but it was gone." ~Laura
"We had some yellow jackets in a rotting stump..We sprayed it at night, which is what you are supposed to do, and we had an amazing structure inside. Look at the posts and tiers." ~Olivia
:)
