November 12, 2008: Beez

xoxoxoBruce · 11-12-2008, 12:28 AM

I got this email from Leah, but I don't know if it originated with her. It didn't say 'forward' but the writing, which I've edited for clarity, didn't look like hers.

Quote:

So I'm using my bbq this weekend... so I thought ill clean it up..
I have know there are bee's coming from under the cover so I thought I’d kill them, obviously... so heres the bbq in question.

Quote:

Now I know these bombs aren't for bee's and that but I thought I’ll suffocate/smoke them out. So here is the weapon of choice and delivery system.

Quote:

I thought I was pretty smart hehehe designed to be easierly manovered under the cover of darkness... so then I released the weapon of buzz destruction.
OMFG! the sound from under the cover was incredible!!! You could hear it 3m away easy... then I ran like the clappers.

Coming back few mins later to see the death toll was at least 20mm deep, a mass grave.

Quote:

I continued to remove the cover and to light the bbq to give it a clean, when I noticed some fatty looking substance on the top of the side shelf thing.
Bit weird.. I clean it before I put it away for winter and no way was there fat there so I begun to wonder...... NO..... it can't be could it?
I slowly removed the rest of the cover only to find the HQ.
We think the queen flew away.... either that or a small child has wings and has been living in the hive coz that thing was huge!

I wonder how long it took to build those combs?
I suppose after using a Flea & Roach bomb, you shouldn't chocolate dip the bees, or eat the honey.

Juniper · 11-12-2008, 12:35 AM

Somewhere nearby a beekeeper is wondering what happened to his beloved hive.

Maybe you couldn't eat the honey, but I'd sure make use of all that lovely beeswax!

Poor bees.

classicman · 11-12-2008, 12:48 AM

That's incredible - when was the last time the grill was used?

Aliantha · 11-12-2008, 01:19 AM

Bees usually swam when the old hive gets too small, that is, after a good season with few casualties and lots of pollen and nectar. The workers create a new queen bee for the old hive, and the old queen flies off with the swarm after the workers have located a good spot.

It's amazing how quickly they can establish a good hive if the conditions are favourable. I would imagine a BBQ under cover must be 'good conditions' for bees. lol

SquidGirl · 11-12-2008, 01:22 AM

I just keep staring at the pictures in amazement...and I have a sudden urge to toast some bread. I'm also slightly terrified to uncover my grill now, too.

Tawnyscrawnylions@ya · 11-12-2008, 03:22 AM

Permaculture is the way to take care of it. Check it out. take care of the earth and the earth will take care of you.

Griff · 11-12-2008, 06:30 AM

What an unbelievably stupid act.

ZenGum · 11-12-2008, 08:01 AM

Hello Tawnyscrawnylion and

to the cellar.

Probably there was a beekeeper nearby who would have gladly come and taken that hive. Still, it might be handy to know ... roach bombs work on bees. And bee's.

footfootfoot · 11-12-2008, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Griff

What an unbelievably stupid act.

Ditto. Easily available pesticides are not the best idea for anyone except the people making and selling the stuff.

Pie · 11-12-2008, 08:34 AM

Would you want to use "roach bomb" on a cooking surface, nevermind the senseless killing of the bees?

sweetwater · 11-12-2008, 09:02 AM

It's terrible that a hive was killed, but I get the impression that the storyteller was unaware that it was a hive, and not just some bees hanging around under the cover. I would have just taken the cover off and let the bees scatter back home, so finding the combs would have been exciting to say the least.

classicman · 11-12-2008, 09:06 AM

I thought the same thing sweet, but then what? You have 10,000 bees swarming all over your deck. Not that I'm condoning the killing of them, but I have no idea what the hell I'd do in that situation.

Then again, That grill must have been hummin like a Harley on the highway.

sweetwater · 11-12-2008, 09:22 AM

Yes, classic, I would have been mistaken thinking that it was just a few bees, so would have yanked the cover off the grill, had a fraction of a second to think "uh-oh", then been swarmed and stung to death by angry bees. Then the grill hive would be somebody else's problem. And also removing my puffed-up carcass from the deck.

classicman · 11-12-2008, 09:48 AM

lol - thats the mental picture I had too - lol. My kids watching from inside as dad is running faster than a bullet while being chased by a million angry bees!

Sundae Girl · 11-12-2008, 10:04 AM

While it seems sad, I can't see that the poster did anything wrong given the information they had. They did not set out to destroy a hive after all.

We had a wasp's nest in our eaves when I lived in an old cottage. We thought it strange that there were so many around, until early one summer evening when we had the door open and observed them coming and going. Until then, we'd shooed them away, not being into unnecessary death.

Once we realised there was a nest we had to call the council, who sent a man to kill them all. That was a deliberate act of insect genocide, and I'll hold my hands up to it. Making me far more contemptible than the poster.

ETA - fascinating IoTD Bruce!

11-12-2008, 12:48 AM	#3
classicman Banished from the land of usertitleage Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10,358	That's incredible - when was the last time the grill was used? __________________ "No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power." Jacob Bronowski "Most bad government results from too much government." Thomas Jefferson "My views aren't popular, they're just mine."

11-12-2008, 01:19 AM	#4
Aliantha isn't paying attention Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 11,265	Bees usually swam when the old hive gets too small, that is, after a good season with few casualties and lots of pollen and nectar. The workers create a new queen bee for the old hive, and the old queen flies off with the swarm after the workers have located a good spot. It's amazing how quickly they can establish a good hive if the conditions are favourable. I would imagine a BBQ under cover must be 'good conditions' for bees. lol __________________ Life - it doesn't last long

11-12-2008, 06:30 AM	#7
Griff whose life is now like a hockey game Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 11,678	What an unbelievably stupid act. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

11-12-2008, 08:01 AM	#8
ZenGum Is a dinosaur from space Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 5,814	Hello Tawnyscrawnylion and to the cellar. Probably there was a beekeeper nearby who would have gladly come and taken that hive. Still, it might be handy to know ... roach bombs work on bees. And bee's. __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

11-12-2008, 08:34 AM	#10
Pie black hole of brilliance Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Columbia, MD Posts: 3,901	Would you want to use "roach bomb" on a cooking surface, nevermind the senseless killing of the bees? __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

11-12-2008, 12:35 AM	#2
Juniper I know, right? Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,193	Somewhere nearby a beekeeper is wondering what happened to his beloved hive. Maybe you couldn't eat the honey, but I'd sure make use of all that lovely beeswax! Poor bees.

11-12-2008, 01:22 AM	#5
SquidGirl Colloquialist Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Cavern in Mount Pleasant, MI Posts: 79	I just keep staring at the pictures in amazement...and I have a sudden urge to toast some bread. I'm also slightly terrified to uncover my grill now, too.

11-12-2008, 03:22 AM	#6
Tawnyscrawnylions@ya Kinda New Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 1	Permaculture is the way to take care of it. Check it out. take care of the earth and the earth will take care of you.

11-12-2008, 09:02 AM	#11
sweetwater lives inside a Mobius strip Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,048	It's terrible that a hive was killed, but I get the impression that the storyteller was unaware that it was a hive, and not just some bees hanging around under the cover. I would have just taken the cover off and let the bees scatter back home, so finding the combs would have been exciting to say the least. __________________ I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque! - Bugs Bunny

11-12-2008, 09:06 AM	#12
classicman Banished from the land of usertitleage Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10,358	I thought the same thing sweet, but then what? You have 10,000 bees swarming all over your deck. Not that I'm condoning the killing of them, but I have no idea what the hell I'd do in that situation. Then again, That grill must have been hummin like a Harley on the highway. __________________ "No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power." Jacob Bronowski "Most bad government results from too much government." Thomas Jefferson "My views aren't popular, they're just mine."

11-12-2008, 09:22 AM	#13
sweetwater lives inside a Mobius strip Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,048	Yes, classic, I would have been mistaken thinking that it was just a few bees, so would have yanked the cover off the grill, had a fraction of a second to think "uh-oh", then been swarmed and stung to death by angry bees. Then the grill hive would be somebody else's problem. And also removing my puffed-up carcass from the deck. __________________ I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque! - Bugs Bunny

11-12-2008, 09:48 AM	#14
classicman Banished from the land of usertitleage Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10,358	lol - thats the mental picture I had too - lol. My kids watching from inside as dad is running faster than a bullet while being chased by a million angry bees! __________________ "No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power." Jacob Bronowski "Most bad government results from too much government." Thomas Jefferson "My views aren't popular, they're just mine."

11-12-2008, 10:04 AM	#15
Sundae Girl famously pink Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Aylesbury, Bucks Posts: 10,974	While it seems sad, I can't see that the poster did anything wrong given the information they had. They did not set out to destroy a hive after all. We had a wasp's nest in our eaves when I lived in an old cottage. We thought it strange that there were so many around, until early one summer evening when we had the door open and observed them coming and going. Until then, we'd shooed them away, not being into unnecessary death. Once we realised there was a nest we had to call the council, who sent a man to kill them all. That was a deliberate act of insect genocide, and I'll hold my hands up to it. Making me far more contemptible than the poster. ETA - fascinating IoTD Bruce!

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread: