Honey trap?

[wonkywinch]

Spotted in BVI this morning. Might be tricky working on that boat & outboard now.

 

[William_H]

Yes I have had similar on my boat in my yard with bees. Usually just a stop over while in search of a new hive location. I guess if they decide to stay you will have to kill them. Not hard but messy. ol'will

 

[AntarcticPilot]

In the UK, there's usually a local beekeeper who will take the swarm. They have equipment and protective clothing to allow them to sedate the bees and transfer them to a new hive. I think the police and fire service usually have a contact list.

 

[r_h]

In the UK, there's usually a local beekeeper who will take the swarm. They have equipment and protective clothing to allow them to sedate the bees and transfer them to a new hive. I think the police and fire service usually have a contact list.

Exactly this - knowledgable bee keepers seem to be remarkably adept at encouraging them to move to a different location

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Exactly this - knowledgable bee keepers seem to be remarkably adept at encouraging them to move to a different location

Free bees, what’s not to like?

 

[Refueler]

Its a bad idea to kill the Bees ... you are breaking an important food chain ... they pollinate crops we eat .. they provide food for birds etc etc.

When they congregate like the OP's picture .. it usually means they are 'resting' while seeking a new location .. unfortunately they can stay like that for significant time or even decide that location is good enough.

https://pest2kill.com.au/how-to-rem...as a strong smell,encourage bees to move away.

 

[ducked]

Exactly this - knowledgable bee keepers seem to be remarkably adept at encouraging them to move to a different location

Perhaps they go in and get the Queen, then I suppose the rest will follow.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Yes I have had similar on my boat in my yard with bees. Usually just a stop over while in search of a new hive location. I guess if they decide to stay you will have to kill them. Not hard but messy. ol'will

Why on Earth would you want to kill them ?

You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking it, let alone posting it on here.

 

[Hoolie]

Sadly sometimes that has to be done.
A few years ago a swarm settled between an upper window and the closed outside shutter. We were away and their hive was fully set up when we got back. We had an experienced bee keeper come to look at it and he advised there was no way to move them as they were much too well established. Reluctantly I had to use several cans of insecticide to remove them and their hive

 

[OceanDwelling]

In the UK, there's usually a local beekeeper who will take the swarm. They have equipment and protective clothing to allow them to sedate the bees and transfer them to a new hive. I think the police and fire service usually have a contact list.

That’s right. There are a lot of bee folk who will travel too in the uk. They’re usually very easy to find. There’s an online map of some of them somewhere

 

[Beelzebub]

Easy enough to collect and rehouse them. Spread a white sheet on the ground under the bees, put a nuc with frames directly under the swarm late afternoon. At dusk, smoke the bees and brush them down into their new home, put the lid on the nuc and wait for any stragglers to enter (as long as the queen has been brushed down into the new home, the others will follow).

When all the bees are in the box, close the entrance, stick it in the boot of your car and drive at least 3 miles away. They can then be setup as a new hive or donated/sold to another beekeeper.

 

[wonkywinch]

Fortunately not my boat nor problem as mentioned, I spotted this during my cruise ship stop in the BVI yesterday whilst we were enroute between two marinas after scouting for future possible charters. The boat looked pretty abandoned on wasteland with a few scrap cars and shipping containers.

 

[jdc]

Harry Graham wrote in "More Ruthless Rhymes":

When Mrs Gorm (Aunt Eloise)
Was stung to death by savage bees,
Her husband (Prebendary Gorm)
Put on his veil, and took the swarm.
He’s publishing a book, next May,
On “How to Make Bee-keeping Pay.”

It seems relevant today...

 

[wonkywinch]

A colleague bought a Grumman Albatross seaplane to set up a tourism business in Florida about 20 years ago as a retirement project.

During a test flight, both engines failed and they crashed into commercial honey farm hives. They survived the crash but two of the passengers died from bee stings. Really unfortunate accident.

N70258 NTSB Report