All the bees
April 2, 2021 6:35 AM Subscribe
Many places have groups that you can phone if you find a swarm for humane collection / relocation. I've saved the DC Beekeepers Alliance number and hope I'll eventually have a chance to use it.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:45 AM on April 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ryanshepard at 6:45 AM on April 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
I keep this comment around for posts like this. All I have to do is change out a noun and it's ready to go. Don't lose it - reuse it!
posted by Naberius at 6:51 AM on April 2, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 6:51 AM on April 2, 2021 [9 favorites]
I’m a former beekeeper and I love collecting swarms! The best is when they gather in a bee-loud mass on a tree branch and you put a box underneath it and you shake the branch once, HARD, and they all fall with a shocking THUNK! into the box and a little bee mist shoots up around that THUNK! and you think, “how did you survive that and/or not want to sting the eyeballs out of whatever was the cosmic cause of that THUNK!” but they just fly around as if taking roll call and making sure everyone is there and accounted for and you slip a lid partway on and come back later that evening to take your bees home and it is so beautiful, they are so beautiful, and thank you bees!
posted by Silvery Fish at 7:12 AM on April 2, 2021 [89 favorites]
posted by Silvery Fish at 7:12 AM on April 2, 2021 [89 favorites]
I contacted the DC Beekeepers Alliance twice last year after I saw two separate swarms at the neighborhood community garden -- my plot is next to the garden bee hives. I can attest that they responded very speedily and capably, and it was really cool to see.
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:23 AM on April 2, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:23 AM on April 2, 2021 [4 favorites]
It wasn’t until he had started to drive away that he noticed that something was amiss
So I'm now making it an iron hard habit to check the back seat before driving off, no before getting in, no no before opening... noooo before even walking up close.
posted by sammyo at 7:33 AM on April 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
So I'm now making it an iron hard habit to check the back seat before driving off, no before getting in, no no before opening... noooo before even walking up close.
posted by sammyo at 7:33 AM on April 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
Thank you for sharing this, it was a nice break from the regular bees. Also—
MORE BEES STORIES PLS 🐝
posted by Doleful Creature at 7:35 AM on April 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
MORE BEES STORIES PLS 🐝
posted by Doleful Creature at 7:35 AM on April 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
Here's one: How bees and drones team up to find landmines
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 7:53 AM on April 2, 2021
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 7:53 AM on April 2, 2021
my husband keeps bees and our first hive was a collected swarm. I helped him gather them, which was really intense and fascinating. swarming bees will NOT sting you so leave them in peace and try to find a local bee keepers association. as noted above, someone will most certainly be very excited to come and collect those buzzy girls for you and give them a good home. bees are da bomb!
posted by supermedusa at 9:16 AM on April 2, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 9:16 AM on April 2, 2021 [4 favorites]
A Man Found 15,000 Bees in His Car After Grocery Shopping.
This headline, like so many, misstates the situation as a practical matter. It should read:
15,000 Bees Found A Man In Their Car After His Grocery Shopping
posted by The Bellman at 9:38 AM on April 2, 2021 [23 favorites]
This headline, like so many, misstates the situation as a practical matter. It should read:
15,000 Bees Found A Man In Their Car After His Grocery Shopping
posted by The Bellman at 9:38 AM on April 2, 2021 [23 favorites]
A swarm moved into my chimney one really hot summer where I was definitely not interested in lighting a fire. I tried to find a bee keeper, but all the locals had enough bees. I tried to smoke them out, but while they did move when I lit the fire, they moved back every night as I slept. They really liked that chimney. Eventually my aunt found someone who could take them while I was away for a while. I can attest that they were completely harmless, even friendly (some moved around in my kitchen at all hours), but for their own sake, living in the chimney was just a bad idea. I have pictures, it was an amazing sight to see.
posted by mumimor at 9:50 AM on April 2, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 9:50 AM on April 2, 2021 [12 favorites]
Hey, you go shopping hungry and you're bound to pick up more than you planned.
posted by biogeo at 10:02 AM on April 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 10:02 AM on April 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
Periodic reminder from erstwhile beekeeper: a normal healthy beehive has maybe 25k-50k bees. Every single time anyone reports on a swarm they give a sensationalistic number like this to get clicks but “15,000 bees” is a small-to-normal amount of bees for a swarm.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:04 AM on April 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:04 AM on April 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
wonder if the car had an air freshener in it
bee-loud glade
posted by lazaruslong at 10:07 AM on April 2, 2021 [4 favorites]
bee-loud glade
posted by lazaruslong at 10:07 AM on April 2, 2021 [4 favorites]
No major injuries resulted from the encounter, according to the authorities, though they noted that a supermarket security guard and at least one firefighter were stung.Did he have to spend six weeks in lip rehab?
“One guy got stung on the lip, and we made fun of him the next morning,” Mr. Johnson said.
posted by mbrubeck at 10:37 AM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
showbiz_liz that was my first thought "15k? pffft thats nothing"
posted by supermedusa at 11:03 AM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by supermedusa at 11:03 AM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
What I wanted to know is, who counted the bees?
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:23 PM on April 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:23 PM on April 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
At the end, it mentions he took extra time so he didn’t end up leaving behind a thousand or so bees in the car. So, in a normal situation, do some bees generally get left behind? And if so, what happens to them?
posted by double bubble at 12:24 PM on April 2, 2021
posted by double bubble at 12:24 PM on April 2, 2021
Well of course they swarmed to his car; it’s a Bee-ick!
(Also just listening to a story about beekeeping on NPR Science Friday; happy bee-day everyone!)
posted by TedW at 12:45 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
(Also just listening to a story about beekeeping on NPR Science Friday; happy bee-day everyone!)
posted by TedW at 12:45 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
> What I wanted to know is, who counted the bees
They count off. It takes a while. (Especially if they play Buzz Bee while doing it.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:49 PM on April 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
They count off. It takes a while. (Especially if they play Buzz Bee while doing it.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:49 PM on April 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
I love collecting swarms!
I loved watching this specialist’s technique.
posted by progosk at 2:47 PM on April 2, 2021 [10 favorites]
I loved watching this specialist’s technique.
posted by progosk at 2:47 PM on April 2, 2021 [10 favorites]
progosk - that’s a great technique. Never thought about rubber bands. Thanks for sharing!
posted by Silvery Fish at 3:04 PM on April 2, 2021
posted by Silvery Fish at 3:04 PM on April 2, 2021
I cannot believe the woman in progosk's link just casually, even literally, handled those bees with impunity and with no suit/protection whatsoever! Mind blown.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:28 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:28 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yeah, "that made me uncomfortable..."
posted by Windopaene at 3:48 PM on April 2, 2021
posted by Windopaene at 3:48 PM on April 2, 2021
I came home from work one afternoon to find that a migrating swarm had taken up residence in the crook of a tree in my backyard. I pulled into the driveway and noticed a lot of things flying around, and on closer inspection I discovered a beachball sized swarm of bees in a tree. Well, not really "closer" inspection, but close enough.
I went in the house, and after a few phone calls got in touch with one of the bee keeping groups here in Atlanta. A few hours later, two old dudes show up with what was basically a "bee shop-vac," and they vacuumed up the bees and went on their way.
From what they explained to me, someone's hive had probably "split" and this was the split that had to leave. It was cool watching them vacuum up the bees, which they said they were going to take to a friend who was trying to start a hive on their property.
posted by ralan at 4:13 PM on April 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
I went in the house, and after a few phone calls got in touch with one of the bee keeping groups here in Atlanta. A few hours later, two old dudes show up with what was basically a "bee shop-vac," and they vacuumed up the bees and went on their way.
From what they explained to me, someone's hive had probably "split" and this was the split that had to leave. It was cool watching them vacuum up the bees, which they said they were going to take to a friend who was trying to start a hive on their property.
posted by ralan at 4:13 PM on April 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
At the end, it mentions he took extra time so he didn’t end up leaving behind a thousand or so bees in the car. So, in a normal situation, do some bees generally get left behind? And if so, what happens to them?
If humans don't get involved, a swarm will chill in its temporary resting place while scouts look around for a good permanent hive location. The swarm has a queen at its center, which is what keeps the bees all clumped together - they are staying close to her and protecting her. Once a scout finds a good location, it will come back and "tell" the rest of them and they'll all go there together. A few stray scouts might get lost this way.
When you collect a swarm though, you're disturbing the clump of bees enough that you're definitely not getting the whole swarm into your container. But assuming you got the queen into your collection container - which you generally will if you do it right - the "loose" bees will now be attracted to the container. So you wait for them to calm down and gravitate to it, and then you either scoop them in or just transport the container with some bees on the outside of it.
As for what happens to bees that get left behind - the way it was explained to me, a hive will attack an empty-handed stranger bee that tries to enter it (because bees will try to rob each others' hives, especially in fall), but they'll happily accept a stranger bee that's carrying nectar and/or honey. For this reason, we were told not to arrange our hives in a uniform row, and to paint them all different colors, because otherwise returning forager bees will get confused and just go into random hives, which can spread disease. So assuming those left-behind bees can find a new colony and bring an offering, they'll have a new home.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:30 PM on April 2, 2021 [13 favorites]
If humans don't get involved, a swarm will chill in its temporary resting place while scouts look around for a good permanent hive location. The swarm has a queen at its center, which is what keeps the bees all clumped together - they are staying close to her and protecting her. Once a scout finds a good location, it will come back and "tell" the rest of them and they'll all go there together. A few stray scouts might get lost this way.
When you collect a swarm though, you're disturbing the clump of bees enough that you're definitely not getting the whole swarm into your container. But assuming you got the queen into your collection container - which you generally will if you do it right - the "loose" bees will now be attracted to the container. So you wait for them to calm down and gravitate to it, and then you either scoop them in or just transport the container with some bees on the outside of it.
As for what happens to bees that get left behind - the way it was explained to me, a hive will attack an empty-handed stranger bee that tries to enter it (because bees will try to rob each others' hives, especially in fall), but they'll happily accept a stranger bee that's carrying nectar and/or honey. For this reason, we were told not to arrange our hives in a uniform row, and to paint them all different colors, because otherwise returning forager bees will get confused and just go into random hives, which can spread disease. So assuming those left-behind bees can find a new colony and bring an offering, they'll have a new home.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:30 PM on April 2, 2021 [13 favorites]
I cannot believe the woman in progosk's link just casually, even literally, handled those bees with impunity and with no suit/protection whatsoever! Mind blown.
The guy who taught me beekeeping delights in picking up a big clump of bees with his bare hands to freak people out.
I have actually found that, for people who just have a few hives and aren't handling bees literally all day, bee suits are 80% to make the human more comfortable, 10% to keep the bees out of your hair (which a regular hat could also do), and 10% or less actual necessary protection. I didn't always wear mine, except in fall when the bees get more aggressive because they're protecting their haul in preparation for winter. And after a few classes I basically never wore gloves. The added clumsiness from gloves can be more dangerous than just using bare hands because if you crush a bee with your hand, other bees will attack that hand.
I kept bees for maybe 4 years and was stung on maybe 5 different occasions, and on all of those occasions I could have probably prevented it without a suit. Don't stand in front of a hive entrance, don't leave your hair loose for them to get caught in, don't wear clothes with wide arm or leg holes they can crawl up and freak out (we would just pull our socks up over our pant legs). And definitely don't stand in front of the entrance of an open hive in autumn and then ignore the change in tone that signals they're getting pissed off. That was the only time I got six stings at once.
None of this applies if your bees are Africanized though! I learned in New York, and a visiting beekeeper from LA was amazed to see my class handling them without protection.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:41 PM on April 2, 2021 [8 favorites]
The guy who taught me beekeeping delights in picking up a big clump of bees with his bare hands to freak people out.
I have actually found that, for people who just have a few hives and aren't handling bees literally all day, bee suits are 80% to make the human more comfortable, 10% to keep the bees out of your hair (which a regular hat could also do), and 10% or less actual necessary protection. I didn't always wear mine, except in fall when the bees get more aggressive because they're protecting their haul in preparation for winter. And after a few classes I basically never wore gloves. The added clumsiness from gloves can be more dangerous than just using bare hands because if you crush a bee with your hand, other bees will attack that hand.
I kept bees for maybe 4 years and was stung on maybe 5 different occasions, and on all of those occasions I could have probably prevented it without a suit. Don't stand in front of a hive entrance, don't leave your hair loose for them to get caught in, don't wear clothes with wide arm or leg holes they can crawl up and freak out (we would just pull our socks up over our pant legs). And definitely don't stand in front of the entrance of an open hive in autumn and then ignore the change in tone that signals they're getting pissed off. That was the only time I got six stings at once.
None of this applies if your bees are Africanized though! I learned in New York, and a visiting beekeeper from LA was amazed to see my class handling them without protection.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:41 PM on April 2, 2021 [8 favorites]
Thank you, showbiz_liz, that was very informative.
I have one more beekeeping question - I hope I’m not detailing the thread. Bees make honey for nutrition purposes, i.e., storing up food for later use, correct? So if we harvest the honey from a hive in the wild, wouldn’t you put the bees at risk of not having enough food? I assume bees kept for honey are encouraged to over-produce?
posted by double bubble at 5:03 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
I have one more beekeeping question - I hope I’m not detailing the thread. Bees make honey for nutrition purposes, i.e., storing up food for later use, correct? So if we harvest the honey from a hive in the wild, wouldn’t you put the bees at risk of not having enough food? I assume bees kept for honey are encouraged to over-produce?
posted by double bubble at 5:03 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
Honey bees are the kind of bees humans keep because they habitually overproduce! Or, rather, they will produce enough to fill the space they're in, kinda regardless of how big that space is. Lots of other species of bees make honey (bumblebees do!) but they only make as much as they need. We encourage them to make more honey by giving them more space, but all we're doing is exploiting their natural drives.
That being said, harvesting from a wild hive involves at least partially destroying that hive. When people keep bees now, typically the hives we use are specially designed to be modular, allowing boxes and frames to be removed without disturbing the rest. But natural hives aren't like that.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:14 PM on April 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
That being said, harvesting from a wild hive involves at least partially destroying that hive. When people keep bees now, typically the hives we use are specially designed to be modular, allowing boxes and frames to be removed without disturbing the rest. But natural hives aren't like that.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:14 PM on April 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
“They sting the fuck out of him.”
This is analogous to my life.
posted by double bubble at 5:28 PM on April 2, 2021
This is analogous to my life.
posted by double bubble at 5:28 PM on April 2, 2021
Sounds like beekeeping might not be your thing.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:11 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:11 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
TIL not to wear lemongrass oil while walking outdoors
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:21 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:21 PM on April 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
When I was a young Austin hippie, I met an old urban beekeeper named Papa Max and he took me to see his hives. He told me to stand still and not freak out and then he introduced me to the bees. Soon bees were all over him and all over me. I stayed calm somehow and did not get stung. After a few minutes, he told the bees to go about their business and they all took off, leaving me one by one. It was magic! I have no idea how he communicated with the bees but it sure seemed to me that they understood him. I've never feared bees ever since.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:45 PM on April 2, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:45 PM on April 2, 2021 [9 favorites]
tl;dw: With the goal of demonstrating how harmless bees are, beekeeper specializing in safely removing bees for people demonstrate a "bee beard" for guy on camera, to show how nothing bad happens. They sting the fuck out of him.
Holy hell this looks like a bad time. And I like bees.
posted by atoxyl at 10:51 PM on April 2, 2021
Holy hell this looks like a bad time. And I like bees.
posted by atoxyl at 10:51 PM on April 2, 2021
a humble nudibranch - I don’t understand it either. My bee mentor told me, “never open your hives when you are anxious or angry. The bees can sense it”. And it turned out to be true.
In the years that I kept bees, I never wore beekeeping veils or gloves. They seem to know me, and I was never stung — that includes the time when a bee unbeknownst to me fell into my can of RedBull and I took a swig, landing the poor be buzzing in my mouth. I spit her out into my hand and let her rest there until she was ready to fly off. Still amazes me that I didn’t get stung then.
I was stung only once, and then when I was 30 yards away from the hives. I sold my hives when I moved to a place where I couldn’t keep bees. The new owner came over to give me the cash. He left, I was walking back to my house, and one bee flew to me at incredible speed and stung me on the back of my neck. Only time I was stung. I think she knew.
posted by Silvery Fish at 7:01 AM on April 3, 2021 [11 favorites]
In the years that I kept bees, I never wore beekeeping veils or gloves. They seem to know me, and I was never stung — that includes the time when a bee unbeknownst to me fell into my can of RedBull and I took a swig, landing the poor be buzzing in my mouth. I spit her out into my hand and let her rest there until she was ready to fly off. Still amazes me that I didn’t get stung then.
I was stung only once, and then when I was 30 yards away from the hives. I sold my hives when I moved to a place where I couldn’t keep bees. The new owner came over to give me the cash. He left, I was walking back to my house, and one bee flew to me at incredible speed and stung me on the back of my neck. Only time I was stung. I think she knew.
posted by Silvery Fish at 7:01 AM on April 3, 2021 [11 favorites]
For anyone on TikTok, there is BeeTok and it's lovely and very educational. You can watch calm professionals scooping or shaking swarms and safely re-locating them all day long.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:37 AM on April 3, 2021
posted by DarlingBri at 9:37 AM on April 3, 2021
For anyone who'd like to read more bee stories, I can heartily recommend A Book of Bees by Sue Hubbell.
Thank you all for this fabulous thread!
posted by kristi at 6:54 PM on April 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thank you all for this fabulous thread!
posted by kristi at 6:54 PM on April 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by medusa at 6:37 AM on April 2, 2021