Jump to content

  • Chat
  •  
  •  

Welcome to Formiculture.com!

This is a website for anyone interested in Myrmecology and all aspects of finding, keeping, and studying ants. The site and forum are free to use. Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation points to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!

Photo

Some sort of bee swarm


  • Please log in to reply
15 replies to this topic

#1 Offline dspdrew - Posted March 1 2016 - 8:58 PM

dspdrew
  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

I saw this while I was at the gas station. Everybody was running for their lives. They finally made their way over  to some bushes and I was able to film them from inside my truck. There was a big blob of them in the bushes. Anyone know what's going on?

 



#2 Offline Subverted - Posted March 1 2016 - 10:40 PM

Subverted

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 447 posts
  • LocationSoCal

Looks like a typical swarm. There is probably a queen in the center of that writhing mass of bees


My ants | My free feeder design | PM or email me if you need and 3d printing, cnc machining, or manufacturing done: http://www.lrmachining.com

Make your own mold/fungus/bacteria resistant test tube water! Don't get ripped off! Read my simple guide: http://www.formicult...-simple-how-to/

"Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is." - Isaac Asimov


#3 Offline dermy - Posted March 2 2016 - 2:37 AM

dermy

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,392 posts
  • LocationCanada

I bet there is a nice queen in the middle as sub said, whilst the other bees are flying around looking for suitable nesting sites, it's a pretty "fragile" time period for a bee colony, since they can run out of resources pretty quickly if they don't find a nest site within a day or so.

 

I hope they found a nest site before anyone did anything to them. :D



#4 Offline gcsnelling - Posted March 2 2016 - 2:39 AM

gcsnelling

    Expert

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,651 posts

Sadly they are probably africanized bees and should have had "something" done to them.



#5 Offline dspdrew - Posted March 2 2016 - 5:35 AM

dspdrew
  • LocationSanta Ana, CA

Interesting. How can you tell if they are Africanized or not?



#6 Offline dermy - Posted March 2 2016 - 8:56 AM

dermy

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,392 posts
  • LocationCanada

Interesting. How can you tell if they are Africanized or not?

From what I've read it has to do with their aggressive behavior, there is no real way to just look at a bee and go it's africanized, it's all in the behavior. Correct if I'm wrong ;)



#7 Offline gcsnelling - Posted March 2 2016 - 10:14 AM

gcsnelling

    Expert

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,651 posts

Behavior is the main clue, however AHB do tend to avg a bit smaller, When swarming though they tend to be mellow.


Edited by gcsnelling, March 2 2016 - 3:40 PM.


#8 Offline Subverted - Posted March 2 2016 - 1:00 PM

Subverted

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 447 posts
  • LocationSoCal

I'm under the impression I read somewhere that most of the wild colonies in Southern California are AHB these days...and my personal experiences would agree with that. I've had to run almost half a mile back to my car being chased by bees after accidentally getting close to a hive!


My ants | My free feeder design | PM or email me if you need and 3d printing, cnc machining, or manufacturing done: http://www.lrmachining.com

Make your own mold/fungus/bacteria resistant test tube water! Don't get ripped off! Read my simple guide: http://www.formicult...-simple-how-to/

"Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is." - Isaac Asimov


#9 Offline Vendayn - Posted March 2 2016 - 4:17 PM

Vendayn

    Advanced Member

  • Banned
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,981 posts
  • LocationOrange County, California

There were africanized bees where I was in San Diego.

 

First swarm there was literally over a million bees on our porch, and they were attacking people across the street at the mailbox.

 

Second swarm was same, but a lot less

 

Third swarm they were really calm and acted like ordinary bees

 

However, the reason I am posting. I was walking in the valley one day, and literally one angry bee (just one angry one) chased me for 15 minutes. It was going in my hair and very aggressively attacking, that one bee and I thought it was a whole swarm or multiple of them lol. I don't even know what I did to it, but it sure got angry. This really steep trail going up the valley (it usually took me and my parents a good 45-50 minutes to get to the top)...well I ran up that hill to get away from that damn bee in less than 5 minutes rofl. So a trail that on average took 50 minutes to get to the top cause of how steep it was, took me 5 minutes...and at one point I was literally rolling on the ground trying to get away from that super angry bee rofl.

 

After that, for the rest of the time I was in San Diego (for a year or so after that encounter), every bee I encountered would always get really aggressive to me for no reason and that never happened before that angry africanized bee attacked me lol. But now that isn't an issue, I can be around a bunch of bees and they aren't like that anymore.



#10 Offline Vendayn - Posted March 2 2016 - 4:20 PM

Vendayn

    Advanced Member

  • Banned
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,981 posts
  • LocationOrange County, California

There were killer bees in Anza Borrego too, east of San Diego, just beyond the Julian and Pine Valley mountains. We were hiking up a ravine, and went to one place and literally there were over 15 bee hives that we could see that were in the holes and crevices in the cliff walls...and they were SUPER aggressive. The longer we stood (and we were pretty far from them) the more aggressive they got. They weren't ordinary honey bees. We ended up having to turn back, cause there were just so many bee hives it was too dangerous to continue.



#11 Offline MrILoveTheAnts - Posted March 2 2016 - 4:30 PM

MrILoveTheAnts

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 240 posts

Behavior is the main clue, however AHB do tend to avg a bit smaller, When swarming though they tend to be mellow.

By mellow he means you can still get stung (usually an accident) but the overall swarm won't act aggressively toward you. Even the non-Africanized ones will behave that way.

 

Once they establish a nest with comb and brood though it's a night and day difference between the aggression shown by Africanized and non-Africanized honeybees.


  • gcsnelling likes this

#12 Offline Crystals - Posted March 3 2016 - 9:35 AM

Crystals

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 2,048 posts
  • LocationAthabasca, AB (Canada)

Reading this makes me glad we don't have the Africanized bees up in Canada.

 

Our honey bees only exist with the honey farmers who heavily insulate the hive come winter.  Our bumble bees are mellow unless you disturb a nest.

 

Our yellow jackets and bald faced hornets are a different story, and will often attack if you step within 15-20 feet of a nest larger than a base ball.  Lord help you if you accidentally disturb a nest larger than a football.  For some reason they love to nest in raspberry patches and around buildings.

 

We keep a close watch in spring around areas we spend a lot of time in, we will knock down the new foundations for nests before the queen settles in, the queen moves on and we won't have to worry later in the summer.  Away from their nest the workers are usually pretty mild, although if you are sweaty they may land and bite while trying to get the salty sweat.  We know from the past that they take offense to several purfumes and even a couple of common deodorants.  :D

 

The other wasps and bees up here are pretty solitary and rarely bother anyone even if you accidently disturb the nest.


"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astound the rest." -- Samuel Clemens

 

List of Handy Links   (pinned in the General section)

My Colonies


#13 Offline dermy - Posted March 3 2016 - 11:06 AM

dermy

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,392 posts
  • LocationCanada

 

 

Our yellow jackets and bald faced hornets are a different story, and will often attack if you step within 15-20 feet of a nest larger than a base ball.  Lord help you if you accidentally disturb a nest larger than a football.  For some reason they love to nest in raspberry patches and around buildings.

 

 

And remember kids, they can and do fly at night time, so don't  be me and go with a butterfly net and knock a nest down at 2am.... I still have nightmares of that night, they just freaked right out and swarmed everywhere. The nest was the size of a basketball [about the largest they seem to get here]


Edited by dermy, March 3 2016 - 11:06 AM.


#14 Offline drtrmiller - Posted March 3 2016 - 12:08 PM

drtrmiller

    Vendor

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 2,714 posts

I don't think anyone could be you, dermy. You're inimitable!


  • dermy likes this


byFormica® is the manufacturer of the iconic nectar feeders and Sunburst Ant Nectar.
byFormica ant products always deliver consistent performance, convenience,
and reliability, making them among the most beloved ant foods and kit enjoyed by
ant keeping enthusiasts worldwide. For more information, visit www.byFormica.com.

#15 Offline Crystals - Posted March 3 2016 - 1:19 PM

Crystals

    Advanced Member

  • Moderators
  • PipPipPip
  • 2,048 posts
  • LocationAthabasca, AB (Canada)

And remember kids, they can and do fly at night time, so don't  be me and go with a butterfly net and knock a nest down at 2am.... I still have nightmares of that night, they just freaked right out and swarmed everywhere. The nest was the size of a basketball [about the largest they seem to get here]

 

 

Considering the average buttefly net isn't big enough to come close to fitting around a basketball, what were you attempting?  :D

That being said, by late autumn when the leaves fall off of the trees it is common to find nests the size of basketballs, and sometimes a bit larger.

 

But, yeah, darkness or rain does not impede their ability to locate you if you bother a nest.


"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astound the rest." -- Samuel Clemens

 

List of Handy Links   (pinned in the General section)

My Colonies


#16 Offline LC3 - Posted March 3 2016 - 3:11 PM

LC3

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 1,323 posts
  • LocationBC, Canada

Reading this makes me glad we don't have the Africanized bees up in Canada.

 

Our honey bees only exist with the honey farmers who heavily insulate the hive come winter.  Our bumble bees are mellow unless you disturb a nest.

 

Our yellow jackets and bald faced hornets are a different story, and will often attack if you step within 15-20 feet of a nest larger than a base ball.  Lord help you if you accidentally disturb a nest larger than a football.  For some reason they love to nest in raspberry patches and around buildings.

 

We keep a close watch in spring around areas we spend a lot of time in, we will knock down the new foundations for nests before the queen settles in, the queen moves on and we won't have to worry later in the summer.  Away from their nest the workers are usually pretty mild, although if you are sweaty they may land and bite while trying to get the salty sweat.  We know from the past that they take offense to several purfumes and even a couple of common deodorants.  :D

 

The other wasps and bees up here are pretty solitary and rarely bother anyone even if you accidently disturb the nest.

 

I remember thinking a bald faced hornet nest the size of a basketball that was located right infront of our door was a Bumblebee nest a couple of years back :lol: . They never really got disturbed by us.






0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users