Now on my last encounter with bees while caching I was of the mindset that if I didn't bother them they wouldn;t bother me and I was able to make the quickest log ever at the cache site...... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerry Nelson" To: Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2003 9:10 AM Subject: [Az-Geocaching] Cache Bees > I checked my Why? cache today after a couple no finds and a report of bees. > http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=52218 > > The cache is still in place and sure enough, so are the bees! A nice 2-3 > pound swarm about three feet from the cache. I've kept bees as a hobby in > the past but had to give up this fascinating activity because of the obvious > problems of having bees in the city with non-understanding neighbors. It > was hard to resist the urge to grab my old equipment and hive the little > suckers. I miss all that good honey. > > Virtually all wild swarms in this part of the country are mixed with the > Africanized Killer Bee strain. They're aggressive and need to be avoided. > I'll temporarily disable this until it's safe. This one can still be had if > you want to go caching in a bee mask, gloves and jumpsuit. In a park this > large what's the chance a swarm would choose to perch right here? > > Bee facts: In the spring bees follow the swarming instinct to increase their > number of colonies. They raise a new, second queen who leaves with about > half the bees in the old colony. Unless a new home is found quickly, they > set up temporary quarters by hanging in a clump, usually on a tree limb. > Scout bees then search for a permanent home, maybe in a cliff crevice or > someone's attic. In a mild climate like Arizona's, I've seen bees that > decide to stay and build comb right on a tree limb but this is rare. My > guess is that the cache bees will be on their way soon and I'll reopen it. > > Jerry > Offtrail > > > > ____________________________________________________________ > Az-Geocaching mailing list listserv@azgeocaching.com > To edit your setting, subscribe or unsubscribe visit: > http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching > > Arizona's Geocaching Resource > http://www.azgeocaching.com