[Ginormous]

First swarm of the spring, so I thought I'd try to make friends with the bees.

Sooner or later I am going to have to remove the tree they've been living in for several years. When I do, I figure I'll be set for beeswax. :)

http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/Ginormous_pics/BEES003.jpg

http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/Ginormous_pics/BEES004.jpg

http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/Ginormous_pics/BEES005.jpg

http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/Ginormous_pics/BEES006.jpg

http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/Ginormous_pics/BEES007.jpg

http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/Ginormous_pics/BEES008.jpg

http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/Ginormous_pics/BEES009.jpg

http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww19/Ginormous_pics/BEES011.jpg

[bigbadgun]

and honey

[Matt-J2]

*runs screaming like a little girl*

I don't think I'm really allergic to them, but I do get rather more swollen/puffier at the sting site than anyone I know. I still think they're neat critters, though.

[Ginormous]

Yeah, I forgot about the honey. Truth is, by the time I get to the sweet stuff, they're gonna be pretty angry with me. Defending a hive is a whole 'nother business for bees. I'll probably have to leave the tree down for a bit before I can get to the comb, and the honey will likely fall victim to ants.

Fortunately, I am not allergic to their stings. And these guys were pretty calm about me poking around their swarm. I had read that this is the time when bee keepers gather new colonies. When I got tired of them crawling all over my hand, I'd give it a good shake, and they flew right back to the swarm on the rhododendron. No stings and absolutely no aggression. And boy did they smell sweet! Honey and flowery all mixed together. That was wonderful! I can certainly understand why beekeeping is popular. Cool experience.

[scrat]

*runs screaming like a little girl*


hahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahaha

[madcratebuilder]

That's a nice looking swarm, there's a queen in their somewhere. They are normally very docile when swarming. You can smoke them and get some bees wax from the main hive. A few puffs of smoke and they settle right down, just don't crush any, it gives off a scent that makes the rest of the bees angry.
Call a bee keeper, he well come get the bees for you.

[kBob]

Is that some sort of citrus blooming like crazy in some of the back ground? What with the crazy weather mine have bloomed in fits and starts.

Couple or six years ago the state bee inspector burned our two hives because he believed they were infected.

We got honey from them one year and were about to do so again when we found the burnt spots where our hives had been.

It takes a great deal more energy and resorces for bees to make wax than to make honey. So much so that folks harvesting honey will return the emptied combs to the hives and set the cap wax that was removed to allow the combs to be spun for the honey immediatly infront of the hive so the bees can find it.

I used some of the wax we did harvest torub into the stock of a cheap old traditions percussion rifle kit. One of those with the two peice stock and ugly brass fitting in the for stock where the pieces come together. I had stripped the finish off of the gun left by the previous owner down to bare wood then stained it with a home made stain from pecan hulls and amonia. I would rub a bit of wax into the stock and then set it in the sun for a bit. I thought it looked neat at least.

-Bob Hollingsworth

[Ginormous]

kBob, thanks for the cool story about the gun stock and beeswax. These pictures were from my front yard in the North Atlanta area. In pictures 6 & 7, that's a White Azalea blooming in the background. Several are located at the base of the Red Oak tree in which the bees have made their hive.

In the last shot, that's an American Dogwood blooming profusely white in the background and a Redbud tree to the left of that. What's funny is the day before yesterday (Tuesday) we had snow flurries. :) Now, THAT'S a crazy Spring in Georgia!

Unfortunately for the oak that holds this hive, it is suffering from old age, as large limbs are dying. I've had several removed that hang over the house, but the rest of the tree is showing the same symptoms. I'll probably have the remaining limbs removed this summer, and leave the trunk for a bit. It may be unsightly looking in that condition, but at least the bees will have another season in this 150+ year old tree. Which means more beeswax for me. I scratch their backs now, they'll scratch my back later on. :D

[sundance44s]

Be careful pissed off bees are hard to out run .....Heck they could be those new breed bees ...bad azz bees .

[Ginormous]

The arborist from the county extension office, who was a beekeeper, and also pronounced the tree DOA last fall, identified the bees as "Italian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_bee)" bees. He said they tended to be one of the more gentle species as far as handling goes, but they can and do protect their hive with ferocity. He also mentioned that they were one half of the gene pool in the "Africanized (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_bee)" hybrid bees from South America.
:what:
Looks like the Italians do more than just make pretty good black powder replicas! They supply us with the most common breed of bee for honey and beeswax!

Grazie i miei amici!