
I had just had an experience with bees. In fact I had a recurring experience with
bees choosing to live around my house.
Probably three years ago bees began to swarm around
the railing of my deck. At first I was
delighted, since I have four fruit trees, several herbs, and some flowering
plants meant to attract the several hummingbirds we have in the trees
surrounding my house.
Later, I was less enamored as their rectangular home
grew several inches in width and height in a few days. As it reached about 3’ x 2’, I began to
seriously consider how to move them to a more remote location. I called around and was finally given the
name of a bee catcher who, supposedly would relocate them for me. I was given to understand there would be no
charge.
At the time I was chairman of the local Chapter of
the American Institute of Wine and Food and was deeply concerned about the
dwindling supply of bees, both locally and internationally. Studies in 2009 and later seem to indicate
there are a variety of causative factors, including a mite, chemicals (which is
the focus of the Friends of the Earth), changes in beekeeping, a virus, and
urbanization. The condition has been
termed Colony Collapse Disorder and
progress to reverse the trend has not been promising.
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The Queen |
So, you can imagine my frustration when the pest
control Bee Man came out, looked at my hive, told me the bees could not be
relocated because local restrictions prohibited moving bees, and he would get rid
of them for $175. Eventually we agreed
on $50 and in ten minutes he had swept all the bees in a plastic bag and gassed
them with some aerosol poison.
Fast-forward to about 2 months ago, when my son, who lives
across the street in an identical house, said he had bees swarming on his
deck. I asked if he wanted me to do
something, but he said he would take care of it. After several weeks, his ex-wife, concerned
about the children, took it upon herself to find a solution. She too, was hopeful the bees could be
relocated but was unable to find anyone who would do that.
Wiser from my previous experience I contacted one of
the managers of a local Farmers Market, which has among other things a stand
for Noah’s Honey. He put me in touch
with a Bee Company called GuerillaBeekeepers, Ltd. When I contacted
Bill Walter, the owner he was very upfront about the process and the need to charge for his
time. When he arrived in his bee outfit
I could readily see he was going to earn every bit of the $218 he had quoted.
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My Bees |
It took him more than an hour to harvest the bees from under the steps and put them in
two large containers. He was proud that
he had captured the Queen (twice the size of the other bees), which would make
relocation smooth and easy.
Off he went in his truck, with no head protection
and at least half a dozen bees flying around his head, seemingly unconcerned,
as he said they were remarkably calm about the change in location. He did say that if you found yourself with a
bee in your car, the best strategy is to roll down a window about two inches so
the bee could escape. Wide open and they
can’t fly against the wind.
When asked about what is causing the decline in the
bee population, he cited what I mentioned above, but added that locally the
bees are overworked, being moved from one almond orchard to another. This was
the only argument other than my SAG membership for unionizing, if a colony that
has a Queen can unionize.
He texted me that the bees were almost immediately
relocated at an apiary in Silverado and would soon be at work for local
farmers. He also sent me two pictures of
my bees and an offer to speak, both at the elementary school where my son
teaches and at the MOAA group where I am Program Chair.
If you have an inclination to plant a bee-friendly
garden check out this site.
In my next Post I’ll share why I think of Franz Liszt
when I hear Jelly Roll Morton. Go figure!
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