Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
The fish are jumpin'
And the bees are buzzin'
My apologies to George Gershwin for amending his classic tune. With the temperatures in the 90s lately, the heat slows most creatures down, that is unless you're an insect. As the sun pushes it's way high in the sky every morning, radiating high intensity photons onto the landscape, it stirs natures tiny six legged, winged creatures to action. While I appreciate that bees fill an important niche, it's the niches they fill that causes me much trepidation.
On a recent morning with the sun, beating strongly on the side of the house I was inspecting, I approached the A/C condenser. Part of my routine is to remove the cover from the service switch behind the unit to inspect the wiring. This particular cover was plastic and had been damaged. I put my hand on the side opposite the hinge and tugged it open.
The cover fell from my grip and in that momentary pause, as the lid tumbled towards the ground, me and the resident bees it seemed got briefly acquainted.
Rut roh!
Once exposed in the sun they came rocketing forth like a fighter squander on a low level strafing run. In a concerted attack against the enemy. I went rocketing away, just as fast as my two feets would go.
I didn't get stung...this time. The season is early.
Bees, especially Yellow Jackets are a part of summertime inspecting. The hotter it gets, the more active and ill tempered it seems they become. I believe due to our mild winter and early spring these little marauders are more prevalent this year. I have to remember to be vigilant when traipsing around their territory.
And to knock next time before I open their front door.
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