These guys were hanging around one of my jujubes this evening. Still as statues.

This post was edited by AJBB on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 22:39

AJBB, if they're still there tomorrow - with lots of company - I'd recommend the folks who took the swarm away today. They do relocate the bees they trap to an apiary. They were super nice (the bees, too!) and quite efficient. Took no time at all. They said that Spring is swarming season and that they're getting so many calls, they're busy as, well... bees! ;O)

AJBB ... not honey bees.

They are probably males of one of the native bees that doesn't make hives ... they nap near places that attract females.

Sounds like my husband!

Fun posts and pics! Tomato, did they take the bees away? How did it go? How much does something like that cost? I hope they save the bees rather than killing them? We need an update! :)

Neat pic AJBB--I agree with Lazy that they sure don't look like honeybees to me. Neat though!

LOL @ Mary!

Happy gardening all,
Grant

I think they're leaf cutter bees. Gone the following day, but great seeing them huddled together like that -- especially for a species that generally don't congregate together.

Grant, I was very happy with the bee rescuers. It was dark by the time they got here but they took all the bees. They use a plain ol' shop vac because there are no moving parts to damage the bees. Once they're in the vacuum container, they reverse the air flow and blow them into a safe box that they take to a beekeeper. I asked a lot of questions before I had them come out; I didn't want the bees to be killed and they assured me they would not be harmed. (They did say the bees would be mad as heck!) They had quoted me $125, but actually charged me much less.

AJBB, those were some pretty bees you hosted! I can't tell from the photo; are they honeybee size or bumblebee size?

I hope people who saw this piece on the news won't go nutty and call out the bee assassins. Swarms can be dangerous, but usually due to human folly. Colony bee collapse is a real danger to food production and, ultimately, to our survival.

Here is a link that might be useful: news about bee swarms

I've been surprised by how few bees I've seen so far this spring, but they must be around doing something as I've got fruit set on my trees!

Kevin

Thanks for posting. Please post the name of the company who take the bees away. I had someone remove a hive a few years ago and would have wanted them relocated if possible. I don't know what they did to remove the bees but I'm pretty sure they didn't take them alive. It was in the middle of our block wall fence. If it happens again I would call the company you used instead.

Happy to give these guys a recommendation. Here's the info on their card:
Bee Rescue Specialist
Licensed, Bonded, Insured
Lance Neveleff
602-309-0494
www.adkinsbeeremoval.com

Great info, tomato, glad they rescued the bees! Thanks for sharing their information too. I'm going to plop it in my phone just in case! Happy gardening all!

Bee Swarms will usually leave on there own if given enough time. If you can't wait it out some bee keepers will take wild bee's but not all do. If that doesn't work call a Bee Removal or Bee Control company like us. We can remove them and relocate most swarms without having to kill them off. But its better if you can wait it out and see if they happen to leave on there own. Bees are very important to us and we need to save as many of them as we can.

Here is a link that might be useful: Abolish Pest & Wildlife Control San Antonio

I'm a bit perplexed by your post. First, you're in San Antonio; we're in Phoenix. Second, "Abolish" is an unfortunate word to use in a company name if you're into rescuing and relocating so-called "pests".

I did know I could wait and the bees would probably move on the next day. I didn't for two reasons: 1) They were within feet of foot traffic on the street and 2) if they'd moved on to someone's yard who views all 'insects' as the enemy, they might have been killed. I'm happy with the outcome.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dance of the Honeybees

just had some out here in peoria two days ago. I thought they were trying to build a hive on top of the neighbors house because they were all piled up there. Was temped to call an exterminator but decided to wait a day and they were gone the next night.