We here at A-Academy Pest Control compiled some of the basics about bees to help you make more educated choices on how to deal with them.
Types of Bees in a Colony
Bee colonies consist of different types of bees, all with their own jobs to help the colony function:
- Workers: These bees are the ones you’re most likely to see. They are responsible for food collection, hive maintenance, hive expansion, caring for the young and defending the colony.
- Drones: These male bees will mate with new queens during the nuptial flight and die shortly afterward.
- Queen: She lays all the eggs in the colony, and without her, the colony cannot replace old workers. Some colonies may have a queen waiting to take over when an old one dies.
Non-colony Bees
Solitary carpenter bees will carve extensive tunnels into the wood for their nests. They also visit many flowers in search of food like honey bees.
Dangers Bees Pose
The typical honey bee uses a barbed sting to defend the hive from threats. The worker loses the stinger, the venom sac and internal organs as it pulls away after stinging due to the barbs. Bumblebees have no barbs on their stingers and can sting people multiple times.
Many animals and people die from bee stings each year. People allergic to bee stings can go into anaphylactic shock and die after bees sting them.
Where Bees Like to Build Hives
Honey bees like to nest wherever there is a good place safe from the weather. They may build hives in old tree hollows or between rock crevices. They may also build a hive in your house’s crawl space, attic or any shaft that is open and left alone.
Carpenter bees will burrow into wood to build their nest chambers. However, it may surprise you to know that 70 percent of native bee species here in North America nest underground.
Damage That Bees Cause
Abandoned honey bee hives may drip honey on the surrounding infrastructure and do largely superficial damage.
Carpenter bees can cause a lot of damage to infrastructure. They burrow fairly deeply into wooden beams and weaken the structural integrity. Several carpenter bees burrowing in the same location can do considerable damage.
Bee Removal
We highly recommend that inexperienced individuals avoid removing hives on their own. Imagine the injuries from a swarm of bees if you fail.
Get Help Removing Bees from Your Property
Contact the experts at A-Academy Pest Control to assess your problems and give you a free estimate. Let our team help protect your family or business.
