# I am not a bee keeper but i love bees and I need help



## TheBuzz (Feb 8, 2012)

Less then a dozen bees wont likely survive nor do honeybee swarm in such low numbers typically.


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

hey hey !
wish we stilled lived in ur area (we moved to kansas to fix up an old farm ... lived in so cal our entire lives) or else we would come by and hive the girls up. 

i would recommend maybe calling ur local fire department or pest control. they usually have beekeepers on file for swarm calls. maybe craigslist as well. that is if no one gets back to u on here from ur local area.

and thanks soo much to you for nit spraying or killing them. just give it a few days and im sure a beek would be more than happy to come by and get them for ya. of course u are always invited to be come a back yard beekeeper. its the most incredible thing my wife and i have ever gotten into and we wish we would have started years ago. maybe a top bar hive. we have a couple of them along with all of our standard hives and we find that new beekeepers enjoy them quite a bit. mellower bees...very rewarding and an awesome hobby.

youtube 'top bar hive' and ull see ... everyone should have one we feel 

Blessings,
Tommy


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

just saw ur are from long beach WASHINGTON not California hahaha


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## Jackam (Jun 3, 2013)

Are you certain that these bees are honeybees?


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome Micki! It takes about 10,000 workers plus a queen to survive. Move the bowl and you will not notice as much when they disappear.


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## Micki Lyn (Jun 3, 2013)

Well thank you all for replying. It does sound discouraging. I really don't want them to die. I posted on my local facebook version of craigslist that I am looking for a bee keeper.


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## Micki Lyn (Jun 3, 2013)

I am not totally sure. I actually have had this kind of bee for many years and always thought they were little bumble bees. BUT my dad was here with us for dinner and he said they were too small to be bumble bees that they must be some type of honey bee. They are fatter and fuzzier looking, to me anyway, that honey bee photos online. However they are small like my dad said. They would all easily fit on a penny, I think, and in the little hive some are even smaller maybe 1/2 that size. Then in the middle there is one bigger bee that has a weird looking head I can just barely see. I will try to get a photo and put it up but I am not good at this forum stuff.


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## Micki Lyn (Jun 3, 2013)

Jackam said:


> Are you certain that these bees are honeybees?


I hope I did that ok. They love the flowers.


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## Jackam (Jun 3, 2013)

Can't see the pics just yet.


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## samoadc (Dec 15, 2012)

I would bet they are not honey bees at all but rather yellow jackets, hornets or bumble bees. Look closely after googling honey bee on the internet or getting a photo in a library book. If you don't kill them right away there may soon be so many that you will wish you had. Best to spray after dark when they are not flying around and be fast and only muse light if you have to as when disturbed they will fly to the light often.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

One difference between honey bees, & the wasps is that honey bees are fuzzy.


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## Jed (Feb 23, 2013)

Micki Lyn said:


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hi these picture will not be approved by the admin because this is the welcome form u will have to post them in the photo fourm ...I guess :s


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## Micki Lyn (Jun 3, 2013)

Ok I will post in photos.


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## Micki Lyn (Jun 3, 2013)

KQ6AR said:


> One difference between honey bees, & the wasps is that honey bees are fuzzy.


They are fuzzy. I think they look like tiny baby Bumble bees but they are small so I don't know. I have had this type of bee several years around my lot, they like my gardens and they never bug me or are aggressive. If they are Bumble bees I read the hive will stay small. Is that wrong? If I have to I'll kill them but if I don't have to I would feel really bad. They do an important job. I am trying to be conscious of that.


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## Micki Lyn (Jun 3, 2013)

Ok I posted photos in the photo forum. I have look at lots of photos and I think they look the most like bumble bees but not quite. They sound like the size would be honey bee but they do have fuzzy butts. They are tiny most just the size of one of my fingernails and I am a little gal, not even five feet. If anyone can tell me wht they are please do look at the photos in the photo forum. If they are not bumbles it sounds like they have to go, if they are bumbles will the hive stay small? Those will be my big questions. Thank you all very much for trying. I know this is a bit off topic but I have not found anyone locally to help me. It's a small area and pretty rural.


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## BeeDub (Mar 11, 2013)

I responded to your photo post and they are Bumble Bees. Nice picture of the nest.


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## Lazer128 (Dec 15, 2012)

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Yes, that is a bumble bee nest I've never seen one in real life. You can see the honey pots in the photo also.
They only stay around for one season, the queen leaves in the fall & sleeps winter away.


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