“Sculptor collaborates with Bees” artists uses beeswax to create artistic sculptures.
Check out his website http://www.andrewsalomone.com
Photo by PPMA
Did you know Africanized Honeybees swarm 30 more often than the European Honeybees? Spring has sprung and we are getting calls, here are a few tips:
- Don’t Panic when they decide to swarm on a tree, bush or fence. Its nature way of reproduction.
- Leave them alone, they will probably move on.
- When they swarm they take in as much honey as they can, this tends to make them a little more docile. They are not defending a hive yet, but that doesn’;t mean that they won’t sting. Use caution and Bee Safe.
How do those honeybees get into your home?
As you can see any crack or crevice that they can squeeze into, as long as there is room inside to build a honeycomb to raise future bees. The bees have also decided that they only work on Sunday’s, cause that is the only day I get the calls.
The one thing I have noticed is that the new colonies are smaller probably indicating Africanized Honeybee’s. The weird factor in this is that the last 3 swarms or colonies have not been very aggressive probably due to just moving into their new digs.
How can you remove honeycomb from a structure?
Honeybees can take up residence in any home if there is space available and sometimes they don’t make it easy to get to them.We don’t always remove the honeycomb, it is not always necessary. Maybe the bees haven’t been there very long or it is just impossible to get to as the case above is. depending on the location you may have to cut stucco, or come in from the inside out and this all involves dismantling and construction. All of this is time consuming and somewhat dangerous unless you know what you are doing.
Sometimes it is necessary to call in someone with more construction ability than I have. If it involves cutting stucco or getting into a brick structure then I think you need a professional that understands construction and building plans.
To Bee or not to Bee? What was the question?
Usually after arriving at a home we discuss with the homeowner just how long the bees have been there. Sometimes they have no idea and sometimes they indicate just a recent event. The important issue is how long because if the hive is large the issue grows and can become a huge issue. OK small hive not a real problem, not much honey and not much by way of honeycomb = little to no bugs. But here is where the issue becomes a problem, big hive = lots of honey and honeycomb which equals a huge bug problem sometimes.
I hate to damage a wall or home just to get to the honeycomb, but sometimes it is just plain and simply something you must do! Today was this event, the homeowner noticed a lot of flying moth type critters and I quickly surmised that they were wax moths after she explained that we were just there a month or so ago. The Wax Moth is a very destructive insect pest in the beehive. The adult moth is a heavy bodied small moth about ½” to ¾” long, wings vary in color from grayish to brown and the underside is light gray. Often after a colony is killed the wax moths will invade and lay eggs and the larva will then start to demolish the honeycomb. This also happens within a bee hive if it succumbs to something that could weaken the colony.
So the question is – Do you have to open the wall or not? Sometimes and sometime not!
My point is that it isn’t always required to remove the old honeycomb depending on the age and numbers of bees involved. Sometimes it is also impossible to get to the left over colony and you may have to put up with the consequences.