"Bees, Kitt. You want to keep some beeeeeeeeees."Yes, this would be swarm No. 3. That's three swarms in a week and a half. This one could be considered a cheat, though. I thought I'd walk past that mother tree the first swarm came from. Only to discover it had thrown yet another! (I haven't been by there since last Saturday, so it was flukey my timing was so good.)
I confess, I have been doing some research (more on that later) and had the phone number of a beekeeping group. They're going to try to get the swarm today. I'll check after work to see if they did.
maybe you should just give in and become a beekeeper. There is a need for bees and in general, bees are pretty valuable. A great hobby if you ask me. I love insects! :D
ReplyDeleteI saw a guy's truck today that said "Bob's Bees, relocation not extermination" near Alameda and Broadway. I'm sure he's keeping bizzzzzy this time of year!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen anything like that - awesome!
ReplyDeleteYou know, here in my end of the world (Toronto) there is a lot of concern because we have a depletion of bees. The situation is quite dire for the fruit producers. Did Denver lure away all of our bees? If so, how did you do it?
kidding aside, I'd love to see bees swarming like that. Were they loud?
Hi mimi! I do in fact plan to give in, but next spring. I've got too much going on right now to start a new hobby, but I figure I can come up with a hive and a veil by next spring.
ReplyDeleteIf you like bees, you should read Following the Bloom.
Hey Jenny. That's probably a good business to be in, yep. Especially since more and more people are learning that bees aren't pests but should be protected.
Dana, it's a concern here, too. Lots of people have mentioned it when I've talked to them about the swarms (or they've seen them themselves). The big problems with losing bees to CCD, mites and illnesses seem to be mainly with the commercial beekeepers, who are operating hundreds of hives and trucking them around the country to pollinate crops (see "Following the Bloom" above). The wild bee population seems less susceptible, but it's much more scattered.
The buzzing is not super-loud, but it's noticeable. When Mary had all those bees on her hood, though, she couldn't hear a thing we were saying.
So all those bees that are vanishing around the country are actually in your neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteCool. If you decide not to keep honeybees, you could always encourage more of the native bees to take up residence near you.
ReplyDeleteMiss T, it would appear so, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn. I've recently seen plans for native-bee houses, so I will probably get some of those, too.
I'll do a post shortly on my bee research!
Heartening news that the bees are thriving in your neck of the woods!
ReplyDelete