Posts Tagged: feral bee colony

Squirrel Vs. Bees: Sorry, No Vacancy!

Call it “The Battle Over a Tree Hollow." Feral bees have occupied—and abandoned—a sycamore tree cavity in a Vacaville neighborhood for at least two decades. They occupy it in the spring, summer and fall, and then the colony either...

Look closely and you can see a squirrel occupying a small hollow or cavity in a sycamore tree. The cavity has been home to feral bees for at least two decades. (Image taken in Vacaville by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Look closely and you can see a squirrel occupying a small hollow or cavity in a sycamore tree. The cavity has been home to feral bees for at least two decades. (Image taken in Vacaville by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's all that noise about? Can't a squirrel get some sleep? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's all that noise about? Can't a squirrel get some sleep? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The squirrel pokes his head out of his home, his sleepy hollow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The squirrel pokes his head out of his home, his sleepy hollow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Occupied! No vacancy! The squirrel is aware that bees are circling, trying to move into "his" hollow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Occupied! No vacancy! The squirrel is aware that bees are circling, trying to move into "his" hollow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

With the squirrel gone, honey bees quickly move into the hollow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

With the squirrel gone, honey bees quickly move into the hollow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Feral Bee Colony in Kenya: Nothing Short of Incredible

"EVERYTHING that colonies do when they are living on their own (not being managed by beekeepers) is done to favor their survival and their reproduction, and thus their success is contribution to the next generation of colonies. And I mean...

A feral or wild bee colony in a fig tree in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, southern Kenya. (Photo by James Keatley Garvey)

A feral or wild bee colony in a fig tree in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, southern Kenya. (Photo by James Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a feral or wild bee colony in a fig tree in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, southern Kenya. (Photo by James Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a feral or wild bee colony in a fig tree in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, southern Kenya. (Photo by James Keatley Garvey)

This image is of a painting of a log hive that Cornell professor Roger Morse purchased in a market in Kenya in the 1970s. (Photo courtesy of Thomas Seeley)

This image is of a painting of a log hive that Cornell professor Roger Morse purchased in a market in Kenya in the 1970s. (Photo courtesy of Thomas Seeley)

Bee-utiful Feral Honey Bee Hive

It's spectacular. It's awe-inspiring. It's a work of art. And it's home to a feral honey bee colony in Vacaville. A Vacaville resident contacted us awhile back about a feral honey bee hive built 30 feet off the ground in a Modesto ash tree. The bees...

Feral honey bee colony in Vacaville, Calif. (Copyrighted. All Rights Reserved: Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Feral honey bee colony in Vacaville, Calif. (Copyrighted. All Rights Reserved: Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Work of art" is this hive that feral honey bees built. (Copyrighted: All Rights Reserved. Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Work of art" is this hive that feral honey bees built. (Copyrighted: All Rights Reserved. Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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