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Call hotline to handle swarming bees

Every cloud has a silver lining, and the one that came from colony collapse disorder, the mystery that makes our bees disappear, is that the importance of honeybees to our food system has really been highlighted.

Unfortunately, bees still seem a little scary to people sometimes. A swarm of honeybees looks like a million bees and sounds even louder. They come pouring out of the hive and in a disorganized-looking cloud, then all fly to a spot where they can wait together for their scout bees to find a new home. In this amazing sight you’ll notice how focused the bees are in staying together and not getting lost. This is one of nature’s mass migrations; count yourself lucky to see this incredible event.

They will completely ignore you if you refrain from fast movement. The queen will find a convenient spot to alight, and the bees all come and land around her, to keep her safe and warm. They will hang in this cluster for 2 hours to 3 days, until a suitable home is found. If not collected by a beekeeper, this new home might be in your roof, or any uninsulated space in a house, barn or shed.

These bees are important to the world since they sometimes are survivor bees, the ones that have the genes to overcome mites and diseases, and can make it through Colorado winters.

Calling a beekeeper right away helps ensure a home for the bees that will keep them out of your home, and will help increase the bees’ survival rate. If left alone, the chance of a swarm of bees surviving the next winter in whatever spot they can find is only 25 percent.

A quick call to the Four Corners Beekeepers swarm hotline (970-884-8190) will get a beekeeper on the spot in a very short time to gather the bees and move them to a new hive where they’ll be cared for and protected. This service is free. Do not ever spray honey bees with anything, even water. Save the bees!

Tina Sebestyen

Bayfield



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