Honey Bees...
Our Friends And Foes
Honey bees are some of the most beneficial insects in our living environment. Honey bees pollinate flowers and allow us to have fruits and vegetables. A pleasant byproduct is the production of honey. But honey bees can be our foes when they end up in our houses or businesses.
Honey bees are docile social insects meaning that they live in groups. Each hive has a population of up to 80,000 bees. The types of bees in a hive are the queen, the workers, which are actually infertile females, and drones which are males. The queen, which can live up to five years, can produce 1,500 to 2,000 eggs per day. Young workers tend to the work of the hive, while the older workers forage for nectar and pollen. As the colony grows too large, a queen may leave with workers and start a new colony leaving a new queen behind to continue the colony. Honey bees peacefully go about their business pollinating plants and producing delicious honey.
Sometimes, honey bees will build hives in walls of the home or business or in bushes nearby leading to honey bees in our living or working spaces. Then, the mild honey bee becomes a pest. Honey bees can sting and some people react violently to bee stings.
Much has been written about Africanized honey bees or "killer bees." This strain of bee is much more aggressive than the mild mannered European honey bee. Africanized honey bees are in the very warm areas of the country and are moving further north each year. Africanized honey bees will pursue an intruder for the length of a football field, while the honey bee will only pursue an intruder for about one tenth of that distance.
By midsummer, honey bees reach very high populations. Occupants should not fog the inside of their houses or businesses if honey bees are found. If the bees are removed leaving the hive, robber bees may come in and reoccupy the hive thus perpetuating the bee problem. Instead, a pest control company should be called. They will alleviate the problem with maximum care and minimal risk to the occupants.