STORM2K

http://www.local6.com/print/4492055/detail.html

There's a video and a slideshow here. Amazing!

growing up we had bees in my parents' house in st pete. they have been back 2 times since then. it was crazy...the pest control guy came and removed the cover on an outlet and literally a couple of hundred popped out before he closed it back..dad would be sitting in his chair watching TV with about 100 of them climbing on him, the newspaper, etc.

turns out they were upstairs in the attic and you can still see the "honey spot" on the ceiling. but they had worked their way downstairs in an interior (used to be "exterior" wall-prior to an add-on to the house) wall to the family room.

i forget exactly what had to be done to remove them but i feel confident at some point in time they will be back because i think they just move a few houses down in the neighborhood and start the "cycle" all over again.

god i hate bees!

Gives new meaning to the phrase "honey I'm home"!!!

Thats my local news and I heard about that. This isn't the first case I have heard of around here either. There is a rotten tree down the road that looks to be plum full, you can see a huge nest on the outside of the hole that goes into the tree. Scary

bees really wont hurt anyone unless you agitate them. they're really very interesting. my FIL is a beekeeper and he dispelled my fear of them quickly. and they make honey!! no other animal can do that.

Looks like something out of my worst nightmares!!

I agree they are amazing insects. I actually have a few friends that come twice each year and live in the wood of the awnings to my front and back doors. They are a different kind of bee. They come back to the same holes they made years ago and have babies. They are fun to watch just hover beside the hole keeping an eye out for any other insects. I just sit and watch them sometimes and when any insect comes in the vacinity they take off after them. People think I am crazy that I let them go, and peeps have to pass the big bees hovering to get in the door and they don't like that. I don't pay them any mind, just walk right past. But I would not want to live with 3 million of them.

we have bumblebees that do that. very interesting.

pelican13 wrote::eek: Gives new meaning to the phrase "honey I'm home"!!!

That situation was worse than what happened in my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago. Hundreds of bees were swarming on a stair railing at a building nextdoor to where I live at on an extended-stay suites property. A mother and son went to the pool area from that building unharmed. The behive relocated to a tree branch which was removed the next day.

O Town wrote:I agree they are amazing insects. I actually have a few friends that come twice each year and live in the wood of the awnings to my front and back doors. They are a different kind of bee. They come back to the same holes they made years ago and have babies. They are fun to watch just hover beside the hole keeping an eye out for any other insects. I just sit and watch them sometimes and when any insect comes in the vacinity they take off after them. People think I am crazy that I let them go, and peeps have to pass the big bees hovering to get in the door and they don't like that. I don't pay them any mind, just walk right past. But I would not want to live with 3 million of them.

I believe you are talking about Carpenter Bees...supposedly they dont sting, what they do is eat your wood. They are fun to watch and if you tap on the wood you can hear them start buzzing at you...

.........and destroying the house like termites i assume?

greeng13 wrote:.........and destroying the house like termites i assume?

If you let them...normally they are easy to take care of though...

are they migratory? (sorry too lazy to do a Google search right now)

just asking b/c OTown mentioned that they return almost seasonally. and she lives in Orlando where i would not think they would need to hibernate or anything....

greeng13 wrote:are they migratory? (sorry too lazy to do a Google search right now)

just asking b/c OTown mentioned that they return almost seasonally. and she lives in Orlando where i would not think they would need to hibernate or anything....

hmmm...good question...I dont know, but ours always disappear and I am also to lazy to search...plus gtg take a shower...
EDIT: Ok...you got me...here you go: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfac ... /ef611.htm

Yes they are carpenter bees, and I did some research on them and they do not cause much damage. They only burrow enough room for like 3 larvae. They are nothing like termites. They have been coming back for years and my awnings are still there and they use the same holes, they are my friends. They are here now, and they come in the fall as well. I think somehow the male dies or something because I will find one or 2 deads ones each time. I found a dead one today as a matter of fact.

The problem for all of you FL people is that the Africanized (Killer) Bees have now become established in your state and they will quickly take over from your more docile bees and then you will have real problems because Africanized bees are anything but friendly. Means that you will have to take a great deal of care when dealing with any bees you see. We
have had to learn this here in AZ since the Africanized came in the 1990's and have now taken complete control of the bee population. One bad thing is that as they have assimilated the indigenous bee population, they have acquired a tolerance for colder weather so that they can spread further north into the US.

Steve

it may be tim to declare war on bees before the africanized ones declare war on us

Here is the dead one I found.


And this seems to be a larvae that feel out the hole.


And the holes they make and have babies in.

Aslkahuna wrote:The problem for all of you FL people is that the Africanized (Killer) Bees have now become established in your state and they will quickly take over from your more docile bees and then you will have real problems because Africanized bees are anything but friendly. Means that you will have to take a great deal of care when dealing with any bees you see. We
have had to learn this here in AZ since the Africanized came in the 1990's and have now taken complete control of the bee population. One bad thing is that as they have assimilated the indigenous bee population, they have acquired a tolerance for colder weather so that they can spread further north into the US.

Steve

This is a very big concern. Would be nice if we could eradicate those africanized bees since they're way too dangerous to have around. I've heard of those bees actually killing people and large animals.

The ability to eradicate Africanized Bees ranges from nil to non existent. The hybridized Africans came upon the scene quite a number of years ago in South America as a result of a cross breeding experiment gone awry (another reason why it's not a good idea to mess with Mother Nature) and they have been spreading ever since. They very quickly take over the local bee population leaving every one with the choice of having Killer Bees or no bees at all which would adversley impact many crops that depend upon bees for pollenization. I understand that a couple of goats and sheep were killed in the most recent attack of Africanized in FL. Here in AZ we have lost Dogs and people to bee attacks.

Steve