"It was the biggest beehive that that Ogden beekeeper Vic Bachman has ever removed — a dozen feet long, packed inside the eaves of a cabin in Ogden Valley. 'We figure we got 15 pounds of bees out of there,' said Bachman, who said that converts to about 60,000 honeybees.

Bachman was called to the A-frame cabin last month in Eden, Utah. Taking apart a panel that hid roof rafters, he had no idea he would find honeycombs packed 12 feet long, 4 feet wide and 16 inches deep.

The honeybees had been making the enclosed cavity their home since 1996, hardly bothering the homeowners. The cabin was rarely used, but when the owners needed to occupy it while building another home nearby, they decided the beehive wasn't safe for their two children. A few bees had found their way inside the house, and the hive was just outside a window of a children's bedroom.

They didn't want to kill the honeybees, a species in decline that does yeoman's work pollinating flowers and crops.

So they called Bachman, owner of Deseret Hive Supply, a hobbyist store that can't keep up with demand for honeybees. Bachman used a vacuum cleaner to suck the bees into a cage...


"Utah calls itself the Beehive state, a symbol of industriousness. Whether this was Utah's largest beehive is unknown, but Bachman said it would rank high.

"'It's the biggest one I've ever seen,' he said. 'I've never seen one that big.'

He used smoke to pacify the bees, but Bachman said honeybees are gentle creatures unlike predatory yellow jackets or hornets, which attack, rip apart and eat honeybees, he said.

'They just want to collect nectar and come back to the hive,' he said. 'Most people never get stung by honeybees — it's a yellow jacket.'"


Utah cabin had uninvited guests _ 60,000 bees
By PAUL FOY


For beehive removal in the Detroit area, look here.

"Bumblebees may not have the large, highly-developed brains that certain other animals possess – us extremely intelligent primates, for example – but they can perform surprisingly sophisticated tasks, like using logic and picking up cues from their fellow bees.  Scientists at the Zoological Society of London have been examining social learning in bees and they have published their findings in the journal Current Biology.

As part of their experiment, the researchers placed a number of artificial flowers in 'flight arenas'.  Blossoms of one particular color had been baited with nectar.  The scientists then released a group of bees into the arena while another group of bees was placed on one side of a screen so they could observe as their fellow bees collected nectar from the fake flowers.

Later, the observer bees were released into an arena so they could obtain their own nectar.  Bees in the second group repeatedly chose flowers the same color as those they had seen chosen by the first group, unlike a group of 'naïve foragers' – bees who had not watched the first group.

However, bees that been previously trained to associate the popular flower color with quinine (a substance that bees dislike) disregarded their fellow bee’s preference, opting for other flowers instead.  Just an example of how sometimes being smart means following your gut."


Like People, Bees Learn From Watching One Another
by Alyson Foster

"Spring’s annual flower fashion show is just around the corner, and contrasting colors will be drawing all the bumblebees’ attention. A recent study found that bees seem to be instinctively drawn to flowers that contrast with their environment.

But fashion-forward flowers needn’t worry about patterns, bees seem unconcerned with solids vs. stripes.

An experiment at the University of Cambridge exposed bumblebees to different colors and patterns of snapdragon flowers. The bees had been raised without ever seeing a flower, until they were presented with solid red or ivory flowers as well as a red-and-ivory striped variety. The flowers were set on a brown background.

The insects preferentially flew to the ivory and the  peppermint-striped varieties."


Bold Blooms Bring in the Bees
by Tim Wall

"A 53-year-old man was killed while three members of his household were injured after they were attacked by a swarm of bees in their home in Davao City Monday.

The attack occurred when a hive fell on the roof of the victims' house in Lasang district in Davao City, radio dzBB reported.

Killed was Artemio Baro Sr., 53, the report said.

A separate report on the online version of the Remate tabloid identified two of the injured as Jemar Barro, 24; and Aniceta Barro, 48.

According to the investigation, the hive fell on the victims' house due to a strong wind. When the hive broke, the bees swarmed into the house and attacked the Baro family."

1 killed, 3 hurt in Davao bee attack
— DVM, GMA News

"Honey bees are more effective at pollinating almonds when other species of bees are present, says an international research team in ground-breaking research just published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The research, which took place in California's almond orchards in Yolo, Colusa and Stanislaus counties, could prove invaluable in increasing the pollination effectiveness of honey bees, as demand for their pollination service grows."


Honey bees are more effective at pollinating almonds when other species of bees are present
from: phys.org

"Honeybee populations struggle against a variety of environmental factors. 'In the mid-80s, parasitic mites destroyed the wild honey bee population,' said David Tarpy, an associate professor and apiculturalist, or beekeeper, at N.C. State University. Widespread usage of insecticides continue to threaten the domestic population, he said, and colony collapse disorder kills whole hives.

'CCD is a mysterious problem for beekeepers,' Tarpy adds. 'If you see a honeybee, thank a beekeeper.'

Researchers are investigating how the remaining feral bee populations survived, Tarpy said. It’s important that remaining feral bee populations be protected, so that scientists can investigate why the honeybees aren’t healthy, he adds.

To support honeybees and beekeepers, Tarpy outlines three things anyone can do:

— Be conscientious about which insecticides you use in a home garden, because harsh insecticides often kill or weaken honey bees.

— Plant bee-friendly gardens with abundant pollen and nectar sources to support the bee population.

— Become a beekeeper."

The Herald-Sun - Honeybees an endangered 186M industry
By Kinsey Sullivan

"One of my favourite bees in East Africa are the Amegilla bees. They are beautiful, fast-flying, hard-working creatures that zip about and fly with a characteristic high-pitched buzz that is most evident when the approach flowers. Amegilla are solitary bees. This is another surprising fact about bees: most species are solitary, with females building and caring for a nest on their own. Honeybees are social and live in colonies, as do a few other bees, but for the most part, the bees are loners.

Female solitary bees have their nests to go to at night or when they are not out feeding from flowers. However, males don’t have anywhere to go. They end up having to sleep on stems of plants, grasses being a favorite perch… In some species, such as Amegilla, the males will often gather at particular sleeping areas in the evening. These are often near a stream or edge of a wetland in a sheltered spot – sort of like a male bees’ version of the pub I guess…"


Bees sleeping… (and dreaming?)
by Dino Martins

"I am interested in having a swarm of bees removed from a tree trunk in my yard. The bees are housed in a hole in my tree (about 1 foot diameter) that is only about 4 foot up from the ground. Is this something you would be able to assist with, and if so, how much do you charge?  Thank you."  - Dan


Thank you, sir , for contacting me.  You're a little ways out of my territory, as far as driving distance goes.  The best I can do is give some advice. 

I don't know how bothersome these bees are to you.  There's a high probability that they will die over the winter, which isn't too far away now.  The easiest thing to do is nothing.

However, if you really want them gone now, you may be able to find a willing beekeeper in your area at beesource.com.  If you search under "Swarm Removal", they have a list of beekeepers in Michigan that remove bees and where they are located.

Finally, if the insects are not honey bees, but rather  some other sort of stinging, flying insect (wasp, hornet, yellowjacket), I would recommend killing them yourself.  This involves taking a can of Raid Wasp/Hornet Killer (or its equivalent), going out to the tree shortly after dusk on a cool evening, and spraying the can in the tree very liberally.  Leave quickly, and you may avoid getting stung.

I hope this helps in some way.

Billy Craig

"Hi, I found your name online and was wondering if you service... I have a hive on the back of my house that I discovered (unfortunately I didn't know it was there until being stung repeatedly). Please let me know if you can help and any details you need. Thanks."

-Will


Yes, thank you.  The pictures are very helpful.  I can see that those aren't honeybees.  They appear to be some kind of wasp.  I would come out at night with a can of Raid or some kind of wasp/hornet spray and just soak the nest with it.  Then you can knock it down the next day with a broom or rake, anything with a long handle.  That should take care of the problem.

-Billy, The Bees' Knees Bee Removal Services


"Thanks for the feedback. I can take care of the rest. Actually that was my initial plan but I wasn't sure if they were honeybees and didn't want to destroy the nest if that were the case.
Thanks again. For your time."

-Will

"Hi,
I have a daycare out of my home... and we have a bee problem in the front yard that's getting pretty bad. There seems to be multiple holes in the ground that they are coming from but I can't even get close enough to really assess the situation. Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with this? Last night I poured boiling water down what I thought were the two main holes, but this morning they're still there."

-Grant


Hi Grant,
It sounds like yellow-jackets to me.  They usually live in the ground.  Boiling water would only kill the few insects that contacted it. 
A can of Raid Hornet and Wasp Killer sprayed in the hole just after dark may do the trick.  I think they may also have some smoke bomb-type things that you could drop in the hole after dark.  The main thing is to do it after dark when all the bugs are at home and not flying around.  Plus, these colder nights make them less active, so you're less likely to be stung in the process.  They will still come after you though, so be quick and careful.
Multiple entrances may mean multiple nests, so you may have to get each one individually.
Good luck with it.  Let me know if you need more help.

-Billy, The Bees' Knees Bee Removal Services