[Elfsea] bee swarms

Jane Sitton jane.sitton at radioshack.com
Mon Oct 1 09:58:47 PDT 2001


Greetings unto the list!  This is a public service announcement:

Apparently, the change in the weather has caused bees to be more active.  Ly
Asa detected a bee swarm on her neighbors' property, and I've noticed our
bees at home being very, very busy.

If you should encounter a bee swarm, feel free to call Laird Loganaich, who
might be able to come move it:  817-681-7973 (cell, more likely to be
answered) or 817-551-7642 (home, has an answering machine, but we don't
always check it immediately).

Whatever you do, don't try to move the bees yourself, as there are some
Africanized bees in Tarrant County.  Generally, bees have to be killed and
sent to a lab to determine if they are Africanized or domestic Italian
honeybees, but Africanized (aka "killer") bees tend to be much more
aggressive than the others.  If you disturb a swarm or a hive, you can
probably outrun them, so don't stand still and continue to be stung, start
running, and don't stop until you've gotten away from them.

If you see bees being very active around your property, take care to wear
light colored, preferably white clothing, and don't wear perfume or use soap
or shampoo that is heavily scented.  The bees may come after you if you
smell good.  This is the time of year that bees lay in their stores for
winter, so keep your eyes opened.  Logan is more than happy to rescue a wild
hive, even if he has to feed them sugar water over the winter, as it's
cheaper than honey, and a new hive of bees costs over $100.00.  And the more
bees we have, the more honey we can harvest next year.  More honey = more
mead!

Many thanks for your time,
Madelina de Lyndesaye



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