Oxford Fl., Africanized (?) Honey Bees in pole on Ground

This year we've had a spike in bee removal calls from near Oxford Fl., just west of The Villages, in Central Florida. What's disconcerting to me, is the proportion of these bees that exhibit Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) behaviors.

AHB, as many folks know, are a hybrid of a European subspecies of Honey Bee, and an African Honey Bee, Apis mellifera scuttelata, and has been present in Florida for probably about 10 years. These bees are moving north throughout the peninsula, and often exhibit a more defensive posture. ( in other words, they can sting the fire outta you, family and pets!).

One of the other cool behaviours, is their propensity to live near or in the ground, a place few self-respecting European Honey Bees would even consider! So, water meters are often the first in ground nesting locations that we find, and then voids, such as these poles have, are soon filled with a nest of very feisty bees!

Oxford, FL Honey Bee Nest in Pole

These were moderately defensive, and readily hassled neighbors that insisted on getting too close to the removal process. They quickly (and loudly) ran away!

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com
1-800-343-5317

Howey-In-the-Hills Bee Swarm in an Amphora

Definitely something I don't see everyday... a honey bee swarm had decided to take up residence in this decorative Amphora:

Howey in the Hills Bee Swarm

 Amphorae were used by ancient Greeks to store and transport liquids, grains and other valuables. What's really cool is that pottery similar to amphorae were used for honey bee cultivation and shipping of the most valuable bee product, honey!

This Howey-In-The-Hills honey bee swarm decided to move into this container and was quickly removed by the ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com team. Call us for bee swarm remvoval at 1-800-343-5317

Richard Martyniak M.Sc., Entomologist

Satellite Beach: Bee Swarm in Tree

We are receiving hundreds of calls a day for a phenomenon that occurs every spring and one that we call "Swarm Season". Honey Bee queens start increasing their egglaying as nectar from spring flower blossoms are brought in by the thousands of foragers that each colony contains. Within weeks, the colony numbers can be 50,000 and that signals the colony to issue the Prime Directive: REPRODUCE!!!

And this is the product of the colony reproduction:

Satellite Beach Bee Swarm

A 'swarm' of bees, that leaves the colony and lands temporarily, on a tree, a house or just about anything else. While it may seem to most folks that these are very dangerous, in reality, a swarm of 20,000 honey bees are likely not much of a threat.... as long as you don't try to eradicate or remove them improperly. In fact, in most cases, you can secure the area from traffic, and the swarm will leave for permanent digs within a few hours!!!

Call us for proper swarm removal 1-800-343-5317

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com

Seminole County Bee Swarm on Wall

It's springtime and we've been getting hundreds of calls a day for Bee swarms landing in folks' trees, cars and mostly, homes. These swarms of thousands of bees are largely benign-- they are not very defensive, and will move on within a few hours, negating the need for any action whatsoever. There are times however, where swarms should be removed professionally, and NOT by a beekeeper!

Honey Bee Swarm on Block Wall

Take a look at this pic.. There are thousands of bees, and they have alighted around a utility box mounted on a wall. They are actually streaming into the block wall, and are starting to build a colony within. Call us post-haste, when you find a swarm on a house wall, as the cost for proper treatment and exclusion will be less, than if you wait a month or so.

For bee swarm removal, professionally managed by a team of insured and licensed stinging insect experts, call us at 1-800-343-5317

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com

Help! I have thousands of bees flying around my bushes!

Or Trees. Or Flowers. Or fruits & vegetables.

Every Spring, we get loads of folks calling our lines, scared outta their wits because they are seeing thousands of bees, wasps, flies and other insects flying in and around their plants, visiting flowers and not exhibiting any coordinated group activity. We are not referring to 'honey bee swarms' which are different, and can be viewed here.

When we question to get more information, we always find that the plant is flowering, and the flowers are attracting the insects!  Now to an entomologist, this is very normal, and nothing to fear, so I'm here to allay your worries. If you see these lovely insects, flying around the plant, visiting flowers, and generally not paying any attention to you, you are witnessing a natural phenonemon we call 'foraging insects'.

Honey Bee foraging on Flower

Think of it, many bees, wasps, flies and other insects are attracted to the nectar that flowers exude. In exchange for this high sugar flight fuel, the insect will inadvertently transfer some pollen between flowers, therefore helping to pollinate these plants. What could be more natural?

Though you may be intimidated by all the activity, my suggestion is to observe nature's splendor. The plant-insect relationship has taken millions of years to evolve, and it makes the world go round in one sense. In most cases the bees and wasps don't even notice that you are nearby. Once the flowers have finished providing the nectar, the activity will cease. And you've done your part in assisting nature. Coolio.

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist

ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com  1-800-343-5317

Ocala honey bee external nest in Pine Tree

This nest is a beauty, about 15 feet high, and 7 plates wide. It looks like the colony swarmed recently, as you can see much of the comb material. In a couple weeks, it will be covered with bees once again.

Ocala Bees in Tree

Here's the problem. This nest is located adjacent to a large manufacturing facility AND a school!. Children run through this natural area, and it's a disaster just waiting to happen. So, we've removed the nest, in a manner that minimizes bee activity after the removal. Most folks practicing this art seem to cast a blind eye to the numbers of bees that will cluster in the spot of the former nest, posing quite a danger to adults and children alike, as the bees get defensive and possibly stinging anything that moves.

Hire the professionals, ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com has teams that are licensed, insured, and use a protocol developed by stinging insect entomologists, to ensure your safety. Call us at 1-800-343-5317

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist

Apopka Bees in Bird Nest Box

We get lots of calls for honey bees that build nests in bird nesting boxes, or wildlife nesting boxes.

Apopka Bees in Nesting Box

And you know what? most of these bees are now Africanized Honey Bees (AHB), or the so called Killer Bees of notoriety. AHB prefer the smaller space that these nest boxes prefer. And we've been seeing more mean bees in the area north of Orlando, so it's important to hire a licensed, insured stinging insect expert for your Apopka Bee Removals.

Call us at 1-800-343-5317 for competent honey bee removal in Apopka or anywhere in Florida.

Richard Martyniak M.Sc., Entomologist
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com