12/5/2005: Honeybees build open comb

xoB sends this along from Weather Underground: an oddity to both of us, a comb built not in an enclosure, but in the middle of nowhere (and Missouri, apparently) with no protection from the elements or predators, in approaching winter. Frozen honey, anyone?

Are you implying that Missouri is the middle of nowhere? Well you're wrong.

Actually, Missouri is the upper right of nowhere.

Cool picture, though.

This is, of course, the way bees make hives in the wild. They don't make those little white boxes with the removable comb holders. And there aren't necessarily hollow trees around.

They don't usually put some sort of wall around it? Or is that just wasps?

Yummmm, fresh honey on toasted crumpets.

I quizzed some old timers and failed to find one that ever even heard of this.
Bees invariably look for some protection from the sun, rain, wind and critters..... until now.
Is the Lion lying down with lamb?

Is this the part where we shoot it with our BB guns?

I've talked to people all over the world (and parts of Alabama) and noone I know has ever seen this. Shenanigans? hhhmmmm..

Well when I go for coffee tomorrow, I'm sure this one AH knows all about it.

Are you implying that Missouri is the middle of nowhere? Well you're wrong.

Actually, Missouri is the upper right of nowhere.

So exactly Where does that leave Arkansas ??????

I suspect it's the lower right of nowhere. If my calculations are correct, nowhere is on the plains of Kansas - or at least you can see it from there.

Actualy i describe where i live as " 20 miles behind the back side of no where "

Fuck you all...here in Missouri, we're just reaping the benefits of open honeycombs and laughing about the poor mapping skills of the rest of the US.

Signed,
Elspode - Just in the upper left hand corner of nowhere

Maybe these are some of those rogue, nomadic, crazy angry import bees... they're out there, and lovin' it!

I don't know bees either, but a thought just occured to me ... could they be African/Africanized bees?? Their hiving behavior is quite different.

Yep he saw one in the swamp here years back, also 1 in Honduras while buying timber for someone. This was while not building atomic subs with Rickover, driving a truck, moving a house trailer to Alaska, working in wheat fields. And I'm sure anything else you might think of. He gets the History channel and thinks he's done all that shit.

So does that mean I am in the middle of No Where? What an accomplishment!

Buster, you talking about AH?

Yep Bruce the old wonder man at coffee shop. Also known as AHole. Sorry should have did a quote on my other post.

Interesting picture. If you look closely, you can see that most of the wax comb is empty. The bees have made it but have not filled it with either honey or pollen and there do not appear to be any visible cells containing larvae.

A few years ago, here in north Texas, I had a swarm of honey bees take up residence inside a large birdhouse (an owl box) hanging in a tree. Late in the season, after they had apparently filled up the box, the workers built four or five sections of wax comb on the outside of the box (just like the combs in the photo). Winter came before the bees filled any of this comb. I subsequently had a local beekeeper remove the owl box for me and I kept the four or five sections of empty wax comb, each about the size of a dinner plate. I still have them and they've come in handy to show kids and teach them a little about honey bees.

Cool souvenier, just so long as it's not going to suddenly disgorge any bees!

Welcome, sgmorr.

This is a cool pic!!!! I keep these wonderful little creatures and I'm always excited to see anything about them.

Yes they do on occassion build comb outside of a structure. But it does strongly suggest that they may have some degree of african ancestry. The Italian and Russian stock, even the original "so called native" bees introduced by the first colonists from Germany, do not display this trait.

None the less, I have friends in the lower 48, TX to be precise that have removed bees from these kind of structures and built successful colonies from them.

If you don't know anything about bees though, I would suggest steering clear of a colony like this in the wild. Better safe than sorry. I have close to 100 colonies and work them in shorts and a tee shirt. NO JOKE! But Africans are are totally different critter when it comes to aggression!!

I eats my peas with honey
I've done it all my life
It makes my peas taste funny
But it keeps them on my knife

Interesting comment about these possibly being Africanized. I had some honey bees take up residence in an owl box (large wooden single hole birdhouse) a while back here in north Texas (see my post above). After they presumably filled up the box, they built lots of comb on the outside (similar to this photo). To my knowledge, they were not Africanized bees. A beekeeper removed the owl box without difficulty while I watched. I kept lots of the empty comb.

I've seen stuff about bees in India and they build like that.

Welcome to the Cellar, both sgmorr and Beek.

sgmorr, I recently saw some pictures of a paper wasp nest that filled the entire interior of a '55 Chevy, the grew out two windows. Scary as hell.

Beek, the africanized bees are up into MO?