All posts in “swarm”

Fountains and bees

Comments Off on Fountains and bees

Water Fountains and bees

Anytime we think we are safe in the water, wait that was the Shark headline. Honeybees need water just like us and they will take it from anywhere they can find it. Water fountains aren’t the perfect place and neither are swimming pools. Swimming pools can be a sting of a place if you surface and the bee tags along she may decide to sting you and ouch.

This circumstance is difficult to adjust, the bees don’t want to move and generally speaking they won’t. I have tried placing a water dish with stones so they can get a drink, gradually moving it away from the other source.

 

fountains     fountains

Swarm facts video by ProBest Pest Management

Comments Off on Swarm facts video by ProBest Pest Management

One the of the most asked questions is about Bee Swarms, here are some fantastic facts. Bee swarms are generally not aggressive, bee careful they can become agitated. They take up honey before leaving the old colony and that tends to make them less aggressive. Most attacks occur as part of an established hive defending itself. If you leave the swarm alone, it may just move on. Don’t try to take care of it yourself, we have suits for this. My favorite quote is this ” If you mess with a swarm or honeybee colony and they become upset – you can’t put the Genie back in the bottle”. They can stay mad for up to 8+ hours and attack everyone who comes close.

swarm

Photo by PPMA

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH_fOVbdd0w[/embedyt]

Honey bee swarms

Comments Off on Honey bee swarms

probestpestmanagement20140626_135425_resized_1

 

 

 

 

Here are a few tips on honeybee swarms:

  1. Generally speaking  a swarm such as the one above will move on in time, usually 24 hours.
  2. When a swarm happens the bees take in honey and are therefore less aggressive, don’t provoke them.
  3. A swarm will send scouts out to look for an new home.
  4. If they land on a tree, bush or fence give them some time. If they land on your house it is better to take care of it ASAP.
  5. By just looking at them it is impossible to determine if they are Africanized.
  6. Once they establish a hive or colony they will defend with their lives.

Honeybees in your pool?

Comments Off on Honeybees in your pool?

Do you have a pool? Just like us, insects and critters need 3 things – water, food and shelter. The problem is that they don’t know the difference between a natural source of water or a swimming hole or fountain.

Here in Arizona there are many crevices from rock or cactus which may allow a swarm to take up residence close to your home. The water of your pool or fountain just becomes handy for them and they will come to your water source. So lets assume you live beside a mountain and there are bees coming there everyday, what do you do? So this becomes a bigger issue because you don’t have any idea where they are and you don’t have permission to deal with them, unless they are on your property.

I have seen people create a separate water device away from the pool, like a fountain or just a container that you replenish daily. This may be enough to pull them away from that water source to that dish or container. But to my knowledge there isn’t much I can do to keep them away from the water.

pool 48_Honey Bees

pool Photo by PPMA

Where do Honeybees make their home?

Comments Off on Where do Honeybees make their home?

Well almost anywhere!

 

probestpestmanagementphoto 1     probestpestmanagementphoto 2     probestpestmanagementphoto 3

These are meter boxes, usually they seek out areas that are hidden and away from people such as these closed meter boxes. I also always thought these boxes were to small, but I guess I would be wrong. Africanized Honeybees swarm 30% more often and maybe it has to do with space.

So bee careful out there, as they will make their home almost anywhere.

Spring is here, the Bees say so!

Comments Off on Spring is here, the Bees say so!

 

probestpestmanagement2014032195161018      probestpestmanagement2014032195144959

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:

  1. Don’t Panic when they decide to swarm on a tree, bush or fence. Its nature way of reproduction.
  2. Leave them alone, they will probably move on.
  3. 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.

 

Have you ever witnessed a swarm?

Comments Off on Have you ever witnessed a swarm?

A swarm occurs when its time to divide the colony.

 

probestpestDSC06743      probestpestmanagementDSC06746

Have you ever seen a swarm, maybe ants, termites or honeybees? Comment below.

Africanized Bees swarm more often, is this strange?

Comments Off on Africanized Bees swarm more often, is this strange?

 

probestpestIMAG0943

Africanized honeybees have become the dominant type of honey bee for beekeeping in Central America and in tropical areas of South America due to them outcompeting the European subspecies, and there are claims that they have improved productivity.

Tends to swarm more frequently and go farther than other types of honey bees. The swarm above was very limited maybe 50 bees.

Defends its nest agressively, very defensive. May sence a threat from 50 – 100 feet away from nest.

Respond more quickly to a threat, sending more bees if necessary – more bees = the more stings. May chase up to 1/4 mile or more.

Will move nest if food becomes scarce.

There I was in the middle of the SWARM!

Comments Off on There I was in the middle of the SWARM!

 

So there I was in my car in the middle of I-17 on Sunday afternoon sitting in traffic. Somebody wrecked , actually it was some type of 5th wheel and it blocked the entire interstate. 2 hours of real boredoom until the termite swarm happened. A little bit of rain and I noticed some flying bugs and all of a sudden one landed on the car and it was a termite swarmer.

probestpestmanagementImageFile039     probestpestmanagementImageFile040     probestpestmanagementImageFile034     ABC15

Desert subbterranean termite – mature colony is about 150,000, each colony can contain multiple secondary queens. The readily build mud tunnels over materials to reach wood. Thanks to ABC15 for the picture posted to FaceBook, check out their story.

The bees are coming! How do I know?

Comments Off on The bees are coming! How do I know?

The bees are coming! How do I know?

bee swarm

The weather has warmed up and we had a great deal of rain, that is going to equal a lot of bug. With the temperatures today in the high 80’s you can bet the Africanized Honeybee’s who swarm more often anyway are all ready making brood to divide the colony.

The hive mind decides on the event and all of a sudden the colony is at it’s maximun and they swarm. One-half or so of the colony depart in a frenzy, they may alight on a branch and then send scouts out to find a new home. Once located the Queen will check it out and if she is happy they will move into their new home.

Here are a few facts about the swarm:

  • The bees will have taken on additional honey, typically they are more docile when full. But they might still sting, just less likely to become agitated unless they are defending their home. Swarm tend to be more docile!
  • The old Queen moves with the new swarm, she is fertile and more likely to succeed in a new build. The honeycomb is difficult work, so the stress on the entire colony is BIG.
  • The new Queen probably not yet fertile, she will take a mating flight after the swarm leaves. It is possible for her to become a free lunch for a bird or other insect, if she fails to return the old hive still has the ability to create a Queen from previous eggs.
  • Africanized honeybees swarm up to 10x more then European Honeybees.
Contact Us