I have been an Entomologist for most of my adult life, even researched, taught, administered at Michigan State University for 22 years..."Why does this matter" you ponder? Well, I have never had a bee hive, never raised any honey, but have always had a variety of bee-loving plants in my 'jungle.' The bees probably love me and give thanks to me at every night-fall!
So, apparently, they have rewarding me with My Own Personal Honeybee Hive....IN THE SOFFIT OF MY HOME in Southwest Florida, near the Gulf of Mexico! It started about 6 months ago with just a handful (oh sure!) of bees, that could be seen wriggling through the grooves in the metal soffit, where it mounts just behing the Fascia Board.
MY HIVE has now developed into a hum-dinger of a honey-producing 'factory' with ample comb set aside for the raising of progeny. I can't imagine what it all looks like on the otherside of the metal soffit, except that I know the comb that they have built is EXACTLY hexagonal at every cell...bees do that and no one knows how they do it!!!
Pest Control folks have heard of MY HIVE and offered there expertise...spray 'em out...and re-spray....and re-spray! I won't have anything to do with the "killing thought" so, I seek a real beekeeper, who will handle the 'hive' with reasonable care, remove the bees and comb for his use in his apiary. I can do the cleanup and remounting of the soffit metal, etc. The local Beekeepers Association has several 'keepers that stock there apiaries this way. Of course, I will be paying him or her for the difficulty of 'harvesting' 15 feet or so in the air and wearing full 'combat' apparel! Did I say "My wife was a beekeeper in Indiana" so she is just full of advice I can't use, right? I thought of titling this blog BUZZ-BUZZ-BUZZ but decided that would bee confusing!
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