Bees swarming - pollenating or looking to start a hive?

[jeromedawg]

Our next door neighbor pointed out that there are bees hovering around some palm trees in front of our properties. The palm trees appear to have white shoots/branches coming off of them which I think might be the palm seeds or nuts? The bees are hovering around them possibly for the nectar but we're not sure if they might be trying to build a hive.

Anyone know if this is just a temporary thing or is it a bigger cause of concern? Should we have pest control out to deal with them?

[Sibley]

I'm no expert in bees, but I do think they swarm when they're establishing a new hive. I would call a beekeeper. I'm sure there's someone in your region. Either they can come get the bees, or they can tell you who to call/what to do.

But don't kill bees just because they're inconvenient.

[RetiredAt63]

Bees swarming will make a big elongated ball in a tree, because they are clustering around their queen.   If you google "bee swarm" images you will see this big cluster. Swarming bees would only be flying around in a loose cluster if their queen had not yet landed someplace for them to gather around her. And you would know they were swarming, because an hour later they would be in the cluster.

If there are just lots of them flying around in one area, they are most likely after the pollen/nectar.   When the flowers run out of nectar/pollen, the bees will leave.  I have seen lilac bushes covered in bumble bees, an hour later there were no bees.

You should almost never call pest control for bees.  The only time we need to interfere is if they have build comb in a house or a tree that has fallen down.  Usually a beekeeper can get the bees out.  I have seen/heard of beekeepers removing bees from an airplane cargo hold where they were being shipped and the mini-hives broke.

[cchrissyy]

i think this is just how bees move. i've seen it on hikes or while walking in the neighborhood.

i also think if they choose that tree for their new hive that's ok. bees are good!

i would call a beekeeper if the location was dangerous. never pest control.

[brandon1827]

This sounds to me more like bees feeding/pollinating the trees. Give them some time and if there are no other readily available sources of nectar/pollen in the area, they will move on

[AccidentialMustache]

If there isn't a writhing, buzzing mass of thousands of bees, it isn't a swarm. There will be no doubt in your mind. Think "basketball made of solid bees clinging to each other."

When I was a kid my folks had a beekeeper who had hives in our backyard. We'd get occasional honey, and dad got his garden and fruit tries well pollinated. Never once was I stung by a bee (wasp yes, once, bees never).

That said, they might not be colony-based honeybees. There's plenty of other (solitary) bee species that it could be, as well as a number of bee-mimic fly species.

[JoePublic3.14]

Our next door neighbor pointed out that there are bees hovering around some palm trees in front of our properties. The palm trees appear to have white shoots/branches coming off of them which I think might be the palm seeds or nuts? The bees are hovering around them possibly for the nectar but we're not sure if they might be trying to build a hive.

Anyone know if this is just a temporary thing or is it a bigger cause of concern? Should we have pest control out to deal with them?

@jeromedawg

Just perusing some threads, and got curious about how this played out? Did they move on along? I assume so since the description seemed clearly to point towards ‘nothing to see here, buzz on along'

[jeromedawg]

Our next door neighbor pointed out that there are bees hovering around some palm trees in front of our properties. The palm trees appear to have white shoots/branches coming off of them which I think might be the palm seeds or nuts? The bees are hovering around them possibly for the nectar but we're not sure if they might be trying to build a hive.

Anyone know if this is just a temporary thing or is it a bigger cause of concern? Should we have pest control out to deal with them?

@jeromedawg

Just perusing some threads, and got curious about how this played out? Did they move on along? I assume so since the description seemed clearly to point towards ‘nothing to see here, buzz on along'

LOL - yea they're not around. Our neighbor is just "bee-sensitive" hahahahaha. I ended up procuring a pole saw/cutter from my FIL so took down the seed pods that were originally attracting them. We've actually cleared out the forest er yard significantly with my inlaws' help. We didn't ask them to either - I think they've just been bored the last couple visits and my FIL really likes to do gardening/clean-up work so he was inclined just to go and start cutting. We cut down a lot of the runaway bamboo and now it's going to be a game of digging up the stragglers.  Anyway, I digress...