Between these being quite prolific and always available on the ground (this one was smushed by the car in front of me on our county road).....
....and my hammock breaking the moment I got comfy and dumping me roughly on my tailbone on the ground.....
...and every guest to our house to this weekend (and my poor sweet husband) getting swarmed and stung by a hive of killer bees...
...it has been kind of a startling and painful few days.
Our biggest worry is this new hive of bees that has moved into one of our bird houses. I took all these photos by driving up to the bees in my truck with the windows up and using a telephoto lens through the glass.
Adam and I noticed that a bee hive might be taking over a bird house about a week ago. I went back out with my camera twice to try to photograph them, but they weren't there any more. I guess they came back, though. When Adam and some guests were shooting out in the meadow (Not at the bees- we're bee friendly. We realize they are an invaluable part of the ecosystem and would never want to run them off.) this weekend, the noise and proximity to the hive must have disturbed the bees. They attacked and everyone got stung. They were quite aggressive and followed people quite a long ways from the hive.
However bee-friendly we might be, Africanized Honey Bees, or Killer Bees, are not so welcome here. They have spread quickly northward from Mexico over the last 20 or so years, and can be extremely dangerous. I read that they're basically a regular honey bee, but the Africanized type pose a greater danger because they are much more aggressive, have more 'guard bees' than an average hive, and will follow you a much greater distance away from the hive. People are in the most danger when attacked by large numbers of them.
They are responsible for several animal and livestock deaths, and even a few human deaths per year.
I don't know if ours are killer bees or not. I sent some of these photos to our county extension office. They said they're definitely bees and gave me the number of their beekeeper. Maybe they can relocate them on our property, but these are pretty close to our home.
We'll see what he has to say!
Bzzzzz.
They're really cute, actually. (Except for that whole 'killer' thing.) Adam described them looking like they were wearing tiny yellow fur vests.
Do you think I took enough photos? Do you? Really?
They look like little soldiers or something.
This one looks mad.
They are such efficient little creatures.
They're velvety, aren't they?
Goodness! I didn't know much about them...scary though. And sorry that happened to you all :( You did get some really nice pics of the bees, though!
Posted by: Marty | June 20, 2011 at 03:32 PM
I'm not so sure that they are bees. You should get a second opinion.
Posted by: stacy | June 20, 2011 at 07:20 PM
Your photos are great! Anxious to see what the report tells you.
Posted by: Bettina | June 20, 2011 at 11:37 PM
These don't look like any bee I've seen, certainly not a honey bee. More like the bumble bees that I have in abundance; however the bumble's aren't agressive. Keep us informed. If they are the killer bees, shouldn't the beekeeper eradicate them? Just say'n...
Posted by: Charlotte | June 21, 2011 at 07:54 PM
who ? hear ? to ? until ? performing
Posted by: jcqkynwsa | March 15, 2013 at 12:22 AM