A First For Me.
 

In 73 + years on God's earth I was met with a first last weekend. My buddies and I were relic hunting in a plowed field when one of them said he had something to show me. As we approached the planted pines on the edge of the field he pointed out what looked like a huge pine cone hanging from one of branches. Since my hearing isn't the best anymore I walked right up to it. That is when I discovered it wasn't a pine cone but a swarm of honey bees.
I backed off, got my camera out of my truck and went back to get some photos.
It was getting dark so I couldn't get a fast enough shutter speed to completely stop the action, but some of the pictures came out OK. I was within 18"s of the swarm and the bees were landing on me but were not aggressive at all. They were rapidly vibrating their whole bodies and even dancing around.
I feel blessed to have been able to get up close and personal with these magnificent creatures.

they sense fear or aggression
good vibes in=good vibes out

Very Very nice photos! Thanks for posting!

That’s way cool…!!

Amazing photos . Thanks for posting .

Wow! That is wonderful to be part of.

Very nice pictures there FF, thanks for sharing.

From the little I know about honey bees, that's called bearding, and I only know a few basics because my wife is a bee keeper. I've seen it before on the outside of her hives, when they stack up like shown in the pictures.

One thing you need to know is if you're in the close proximity of a hive, make sure you're not wearing a black shirt. Bees mistake you for a bear, and will attack to save the hive. We have a mostly black cat, and a mostly black dog, that have been attacked when they get too close to the hives, plus early on I made the mistake of wearing a black shirt when mowing grass near the hives.

I'm learning here, and there, just from my exposure to them. My wife says raising bees is relaxing to her, so if it relaxes her, I'm supporting her in it.

One other thing I learned last fall, was that yellow jackets can desimate a hive of honey bees in a matter of hours. They kill off the bees, and steal the honey. She lost 2 very good hives in a couple of days to yellow jackets. She did manage to get some of the comb out, before the yellow jackets emptied the hive. A whole season of bees, and hive, and a lot of labor, gone.

Next year we make sure that we keep all yellow jackets, and their nests, away from her hives.

:focus:

Thank you for the amazing pictures. Saw them just before heading off to church this morning. I was once again reminded of the beauty and variety in God's creation.

Until a few years ago , I had never heard that honey is about the only food that will not spoil over a very very long length of time if kept sealed.

I've also never seen honey bees with an exposed nest/hive like that either .

It was not a hive. The bees were swarming on the queen to keep her safe. They were gone the next day, looking for a permanent home.

Wow !
Talk about full dedication

They say edible honey has been found in the pyramids in Egypt. Bees have a very short lifespan and produce less than 1 teaspoon of honey! Honeybees are protected in Ohio.

This is correct.

They were just chillin' there waiting for the scouts to return with directions to their new home.

They are very docile when they don't have reserves of honey to protect.

K

This is the first time in five years our bees made it through the winter.

Thank goodness for a mild winter here in Michigan.

K

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Keith, I never knew bees hibernated. How long were they under wraps?

They actually don't hibernate, they eat the honey during the winter, and flutter their wings to raise their body temp, and circulate air inside of the hive for warmth. They're kinda self contained until the ambient temp warms up.

At least that's what my wife, the bee keeper, tells me.....:)

Wife tells me the hives need insulation when the temps get close to freezing overnight. Natural hives are better insulated that the wooden man made hives. As my wife has told me bees survived cold winters for centuries without help from us.

Agree - not hibernating, they are in there in a ball taking turns keeping the queen at 90 some odd degrees.

I hemmed and hawed and ended up not doing anything to the hives this winter for the most part. We had about one week of really bitter sub zero temps and I wrapped them for that brief time period, and then pulled the moving blankets once temps returned to normal.

We had unseasonably warm weather in February and March and that's when we starting thinking we were going to make it for our first time ever.

K