WILD HONEYBEES above the TUNNEL

WILD HONEYBEES above the TUNNEL


July 8, 2016

The buzz of bees catches my attention while on the trail above the Tunnel in Steep Rock.  I give a quick look around the ground to confirm I haven’t disturbed a yellow jacket nest.  Yellow jackets usually are aren’t a concern until late summer, but the dry, hot conditions through June have triggered early nesting in places.  I realize with satisfaction that it is an apparently robust colony of honeybees living about 12 feet up in an eastern hemlock.  They enter and exit a round cavity with purpose, many returning with bulbous hauls of pollen, indicating an active brood nest.  What a treat to see this pollinator thriving in the wild, and not just in a beekeeper’s apiary.

Honeybee (Genus: Apis) hive in an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
WILD HONEYBEES above the TUNNEL
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