Inside a Bee Hive

I was doing the yard work today and came across the bee hive that I would usually avoid when cutting the grass. It was located in the ground along a line of bushes on the edge of my yard. It looked as if a critter had dug up the hive and eaten some of the honey comb that was inside the hive. In this first picture you can see the critter dug from two angles and pushed the dirt behind it onto my neighbors driveway.

Here is a close-up of the hole. The original entrance to the hive wasn't much bigger than a quarter.


And here is a shot of the hole and one of the pieces of honey comb on the ground next to it.

Last year I was swarmed by the same type of bee and stung at least nine times. I wasn't anywhere near them either. The kid next door also got it a day later so I went out at night and disturbed the hive with a shovel (not wanting to kill them) hoping they would relocate. They did, but it took me two more times before they left the property.

Since no one was stung and they were not in a spot that was likely to get disturbed, I figured I'd leave them alone this year. Bees are good for the environment.

Maybe it was a little nuts, but I stuck the camera inside the hole and got photos of the bees working on what was left of the hive.

Inside the Hive

Another shot inside the hive before I backed off and let them calm down.

A couple other bees were doing something with the honey comb material that was on the ground.


I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about bees other than you don't mess with them and they typically wont mess with you. Especially with Bumble Bees. We had a Bumble Bee hive right near our side door and they never bothered anyone. Then one day they were gone. I was able to stand next to the hive and they'd land on me and not sting me. I wouldn't try that with these bees because when I first found the hive, I went past it with the mower and a bunch of them came after me.

As luck would have it, I spotted another type of Bee on my porch as I was on my way back inside.

We've had two nights below freezing and the low temps are forecast to be just above freezing for the next week, so maybe the bees will be able to fix their hive and survive the winter.