Tree with teeth...

[txdon]

and it bit me! I was strolling in the woods when I saw an eerie sight deep in the woods, a tree with teeth! As I got closer I saw that the teeth were actually honey combs. I took a picture, and when I was taking another one of the bees decided to attack me and got me on the arm, I heard more buzzing and I remembered my friend who died last year from about a dozen stings and I ran like I was 15 again through the woods. That bee had a potent sting, there was an area about 3" round that swelled up. Here is the one and only picture I got, and I'm not going back!

 

[Bird]

Don, that sure seems unusual to me. I've seen quite a number of "bee trees" where the honey bees made their home inside a hollow tree. In fact, the first one I ever saw as a kid was one my dad made me help him cut down, split it, and move honeycomb and the queen into a hive he had bought. But I've never seen an exposed honeycomb like that. If I were you, I'd have to learn more about that one.

 

[ultrarunner]

In a pinch you can take over the counter Benadryl Antihistamine to counter act the sting...

I was mowing a hillside last year with a weed whacker and got 12 stings... I good size and took 6 Benadryl to take the "Sting" away...

Good to know you can move so fast...

 

[Bird]

I think I'd call the county extension agent, too. I wonder if those might be the africanized, or so called "killer bees". I don't know just how close you were, but I've gotten very close to some without getting stung and of course the killer bees are supposedly much more aggressive.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Don,
I've never seen one like the one in your photo.

 

[WayneB]

I wonder if there has been any timbering / cutting in the area? It looks more like a bee swarm and not a hive.

 

[Kernopelli]

I think I'd call the county extension agent, too. I wonder if those might be the africanized, or so called "killer bees". I don't know just how close you were, but I've gotten very close to some without getting stung and of course the killer bees are supposedly much more aggressive.

I think Bird is right on! We have honey bees all over our area but I have never seen or heard of a hive outside (exposed) of a tree, building wall or whatever it was they chose to build their comb in. The fact they were aggressive sounds pretty suspicious too. Very interesting..thanks for posting the pic.

 

[MossRoad]

I wonder if there has been any timbering / cutting in the area? It looks more like a bee swarm and not a hive.

Take another look at the photo. There are honey combs there. Swarms don稚 build honeycombs. Swarms are looking for a new home. That picture IS home.

 

[txdon]

MossRoad, you are right this is not swarming they have built their honey comb see attached close-up.

I called the County Extension Service and they gave me the number for the the Texas A&M bee testers. The County said that the A&M's group has limited funding and on the county's last fatality they could not send anyone out to get a sample of the bees. Hopefully I can send them a sample and they will test it. So far no answer at the number. I'll keep y'all advised on how I'm supposed to "collect a specimen". Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[billbill1]

Don, I'm no expert on anything and bees are no exception. I've never seen honey bees build a comb like that, always flat across.

 

[WayneB]

Take another look at the photo. There are honey combs there. Swarms don稚 build honeycombs. Swarms are looking for a new home. That picture IS home.

Thanks Dave for pointing that out, these darn old eyes.

Wayne

 

[txdon]

I spoke with the Texas A&M bee lab and they will test my bees, if I send them 50. I'm waiting for a call back from their collection expert on how to do it safely. A&M said that exposed hives are more common with Africanized bees and less common with European bees. The swelling of the sting is only significant if it extends past two joints, which mine did not. She also stated that hived bees are more aggressive than swarming bees.

The Lab person I spoke with said she test about 100 hives a year (mostly commercial) and if they are suspected African after the first wing measurement they take about 25 other measurements on the bees. This is an interesting hive for them because it is an external hive and there was a bee sting fatality in the area.

 

[mikim]

Do they have to be live? I'm thinking CO2 fire bottle ....I trust you could lay hands on a big one for that.

 

[jinman]

Don, I don't know how to go about taking samples unless you suit up. They should be a lot less agressive on a cool morning.

I'll bet that you will discover the hive started in a small hole in the fork of that tree and then outgrew its space. Because we have had such a mild winter here, the bees didn't freeze. They may swarm to a new location as soon as it gets a little warmer. What location on your property is home to the bees?

 

[txdon]

What location on your property is home to the bees?

Jim the hive is in a remote area in the woods off a foot path about 200 yards from the bridge and 1/4 mile from the house. I don't drive the tractor there so I don't want to move or destroy the hive. I will have a lot of wild flowers to pollinate soon. It would be good to know what kind of bees they are. I would prefer some sort of trap to set near the hive rather than take them off the hive, but there is a chance other bees, not necessarily the hive bees would enter the trap.

Mike, they don't have to be alive but they have to be in good condition. I think quick freezing them may damage the wings which is one of the measurements taken, but I'll find out from the expert when he calls, thanks.

 

[MossRoad]

... I don't want to move or destroy the hive. ...

I agree. Not until you are sure of what you have. Why destroy them if they are normal bees? However, if they are the aggressive type, bye, bye!

 

[jinman]

I agree. Not until you are sure of what you have. Why destroy them if they are normal bees? However, if they are the aggressive type, bye, bye!

We have a big hollow oak tree on the south side of our house about 12' off our deck. It has a hive of honeybees in it right now. They were there about three years ago and then left for one summer. The squirrels moved into the tree and then the bees came back and drove the squirrels away. They have shown no signs of aggressive behavior and we just can't bring ourselves to try and eradicate them with the bee populations under stress right now.

 

[sunspot]

Ex-beekeeper here.
That is a hive.

The wax is new. See how white it is. I've seen black wax on a very old hive.

I've seen a few hives like that. They are not worth the effort to hive them. BTDT.

Do you want to trap a few? Put out a wide bowl of watered down soda in the morning. Come back at night to collect them. The bowl will be filled with drowned bees.

 

[JerryG]

Don,
Like everyone else here I have never seen anything like that before. What I wanted to say was, it looks like it would be much safer to capture the bees you need at night in total darkness. Did the bee lab ever tell you how to capture them?

 

[Bird]

Way down in south Texas, several years ago, I saw some blue boxes tied in trees and was told they were traps to catch bees for testing to see if they were africanized or not, but I have no idea how they worked or what they were baited with.