bees

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Saturday, June 16, 2012
The bees are gone!  I freaked out a little because after I called the bee place* to come get them (I was unable to get ahold of the owner of the hives these bees probably came from), they swarmed and flew away - but they only flew across the yard to a different tree. (phew!)  Matt the bee guy said that they probably would have flown out of the yard completely later today. I would be perfectly happy to have a swarm of bees living in the garden, but since there was no permanent place for them to go (hollow tree, hive, etc.) I worried that they would fly off into someone else's yard - and what if that someone else called the exterminator instead of the bee keeper?!

The bummer news is that of course not all of the bees went into the box (he shook them from the branch and BOOM 12K bees in a box) and I am feeling guilty for the ones that are left. He said that some of them might return to the mother hive (which is nearby), but some of them would just fly around and die. This makes me sad, but nature does what it does.

I've been interested in bees for a long time, but this was my first up close and personal experience with so many at once. I never felt afraid or like they were out to get me and I love that they came to visit.

*I called  Bee Thinking - they called me right back and were very accommodating when I called to cancel (swarm flew away) and when I called to un-cancel (swarm flew to tree on other part of the yard).  Here's an article about Matt and beekeeping in Portland. (it's not as popular as keeping chickens, but it's making gains.)

Photos to follow!
2 comments on "bees"
  1. How did they know where the bees probably came from? Did someone report them missing? I'm so glad that you took good care of them! I mean, it is sad that some couldn't be saved, but think of the 12K that were saved! Go Jen!

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    1. I was the bee detective! I figured they probably came from the hives just over the fence since that seemed most likely. Most bees will go between 50 - 200 feet away from their original hive when they first swarm. I even knocked on a stranger's door to figure out who the beekeeper was. (he did not return my call, so someone else got them.) I was all Miss Jane Marple on this problem, although Miss Jane Marple undoubtedly would not have relied on google as much as I did.

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