Bees in the Trees: Unusually warm weather is bringing out honey bee swarms all over Rome

Bees in the Trees: Unusually warm weather is bringing out honey bee swarms all over Rome

by Severo Avila, Features Editor Rn T.Com

A swarm of honey bees gathers in a tree before local beekeeper Stephen Stewart arrives to remove it. Swarming is the way in which bees reproduce by leaving one hive and starting another. This usually occurs in the spring but Stewart said with temperatures warmer than usual for this time of year, Rome residents may see large swarms in trees and bushes but that?s not necessarily cause for alarm. Swarming bees are less aggressive, he said, because they don?t feel the need to defend their hive.

slideshow

While removing a swarm of bees, beekeeper Stephen Stewart shows how docile the bees can be by inserting his bare hand into the swarm. Bees are much less aggressive during this period.

slideshow

Bees form hives in natural and man-made cavities such as the wall of this old school house. If called to remove bees, Stewart does not spray or kill them. Instead, he takes them back to hives at his bee farm. He hopes to strengthen bee populations by using the hardier wild bees which seem to do better against pesticides and disease.

slideshow The bees are swarming? but that?s not necessarily a bad thing.

As Romans experience warmer-than-usual temperatures for this time of year, they may also notice a side effect of that warmer weather ? honey bees buzzing and swarming.

Local beekeeper Stephen Stewart, said when people see large swarms of bees flying around or settled in trees or shrubs, it?s a natural behavior.

?This is how they reproduce ? by forming a swarm and starting another hive,? Stewart said. ?What happens is when the bees have this nice, warm weather and the flowers are blooming, the queen lays more eggs earlier in the spring. Once the hive gets overcrowded, new queens are allowed to grow and the old queen leaves the hive with about half the older worker bees to start a new hive. They leave in a swarm.?

This swarm can contain thousands of bees and is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two or three-week period, depending on the location.

Stewart said a swarm sometimes frightens people but at this stage the bees are not usually very aggressive. This is probably due to their lack of a ?home hive? to defend. So swarm clusters, hanging off a tree branch or bush or shrub will move on and find a suitable nesting location in a day or two.

But if they are concerned, Stewart said Romans should consider calling in a beekeeper, like himself, to remove the bees.

?Some pest control agents spray and kill the bees,? he said. ?But there are beekeepers who will remove the bees without killing them. I don?t kill them. I take them back to a hive at my bee farm. I don?t buy my bees like some beekeepers do. I actually try to raise queens from the wild ones I?ve caught. I?m trying to keep these hardy genes alive. Many of the bees we see in the wild are more resistant to pesticides and disease that we see killing may of our honeybees.?

Stewart arrives at a home or property and brings a small hive box with him. Generally he cuts the limb or branch that the hive has attached itself to. But if property owners prefer, he simply removes the swarm (by hand) and places it in the hive box.

?That shows how docile the bees are at this point,? he said. ?As an experienced beekeeper I can actually put my hand into the middle of the hive and not get stung. I don?t want people to see a swarm and think they?re about to be attacked by angry bees. That?s rarely the case.?

Stewart said there is a very healthy wild bee population in Rome. He gets calls from all over the city, particularly the Silver Creek and Second Avenue areas. He attributes that the large number of old hardwood trees with natural cavities in which bees can form a hive as well as the number of large, older homes with artificial cavities such as attics and hollow walls.

Stewart added that if anyone has questions about swarms or bees in general, or to have bees removed from a property, he can be contacted at

Source: http://rn-t.com/bookmark/17820763

chilis snow white and the huntsman snow white and the huntsman philip rivers 11 11 11 meaning miracle berry veterans day thank you