What are the most important things to know about bees?
1. Bees die when they sting; there isn’t any reason to sting unless you are hurting them or
the hive. Most of the time you are just landscape to them.
2. Honeybees look for certain types of cavities to build hives in. They must be large enough
for comb and bees. They need to be unoccupied, dry, somewhat protected from wind heat and
cold. Hollowed out trees, uninsulated walls and floor joists are good spaces for honeybees.
Less frequently attic spaces are used, they usually get too hot. South facing walls aren’t
preferred for the same reason. Overhanging eaves on east and north are very commonly
chosen, south and west less often unless there is shade so it doesn’t overheat. Sometimes
they even find a way past the outer walls and into floor or ceiling joist spaces.
3. Bees that move into houses build wax comb and fill it very rapidly with honey and pollen
and their young. If you block them in they die, rot and if direct sun hits the spot, the wax
releases honey to soak drywall and make a mess of your house. If you poison them in place
you get all this plus contaminated honey that all the neighborhood bees will take home
poisoning them or contaminating the honey they make (and you may eat).
4. Without bees your table will be mostly empty of fruits, vegetables and many flowers.
So, there we are. Even the “beneficial” insects can be severe problems when they decide to co-
exist with people, and that is when we can properly label them as “pests”. Honeybees are
wonderful, and we raise them in hives to take advantage of their hard work, but be aware of the
potential of problems and the course of action when it happens to your home.
1. Bees die when they sting; there isn’t any reason to sting unless you are hurting them or
the hive. Most of the time you are just landscape to them.
2. Honeybees look for certain types of cavities to build hives in. They must be large enough
for comb and bees. They need to be unoccupied, dry, somewhat protected from wind heat and
cold. Hollowed out trees, uninsulated walls and floor joists are good spaces for honeybees.
Less frequently attic spaces are used, they usually get too hot. South facing walls aren’t
preferred for the same reason. Overhanging eaves on east and north are very commonly
chosen, south and west less often unless there is shade so it doesn’t overheat. Sometimes
they even find a way past the outer walls and into floor or ceiling joist spaces.
3. Bees that move into houses build wax comb and fill it very rapidly with honey and pollen
and their young. If you block them in they die, rot and if direct sun hits the spot, the wax
releases honey to soak drywall and make a mess of your house. If you poison them in place
you get all this plus contaminated honey that all the neighborhood bees will take home
poisoning them or contaminating the honey they make (and you may eat).
4. Without bees your table will be mostly empty of fruits, vegetables and many flowers.
So, there we are. Even the “beneficial” insects can be severe problems when they decide to co-
exist with people, and that is when we can properly label them as “pests”. Honeybees are
wonderful, and we raise them in hives to take advantage of their hard work, but be aware of the
potential of problems and the course of action when it happens to your home.
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| Honeybee Behavior |