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Another Bee Tree

And in another quick follow up on a recent post, we did a consultation at another house with a wild bee hive last week, this time in an old willow. Maybe bee trees are more common that I thought. This hive was much more exposed than the one in the silver maple, and the bees were a lot less comfortable with me sticking my camera up close, forcing me to retreat pretty quickly. These bees over-winter on-site, the client said, visibly present, but with a very low level of activity. They’ve been in the willow for six years, and the fruit trees in the yard have, predictably, had bumper crops ever since. When the tree (now moribund) dies, the owners are planning to plant a vine to grow up the trunk to keep the wood shaded and the bees happy.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 25th, 2010 at 11:29 am and is filed under various critters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Another Bee Tree”

  1. July 25th, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    Anette the Gardener says:

    Thanks for the nice pictures!

    Some years ago we had a really serious problem with wasps in our own garden. One day I was out in my garden one of them stung me several. Another time I went out in our garden one morning and saw a really delicious looking apple. I decided to eat the apple, but what I didn’t notice was a bee on the back of the apple. Once I took it the bee stung me, and I actually became rather sick afterward.

    But generally I’m really happy for the bees. Just recently I read that there will be fewer and fewer bees in the future. And we’ll have a hard time doing without them. So, it’s good to hear that the owner of your last post on the bees want to protect them by planting a vine.

    Thanks again for the nice pictures!

    Best,
    Anette

  2. July 25th, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    lostlandscape (James) says:

    I like the way your client thinks, wanting to keep the bees happy. We lived with itinerant bees for a few years, but the only fruit tree in the yard was a grapefruit. This past spring, post-bees, I caught myself sticking my finger into plum flowers on a 1 year old tree, hoping to effect some kind of pollination. I’m not sure if 4 fruits counts as a success. Bees would have done a better job.

  3. August 14th, 2010 at 5:15 pm

    Lisa and Robb says:

    I love that your clients are providing habitat for bees, instead of freaking our and poisoning them.

    I’ve got two hives in my tiny yard in East Oakland, both from wild-caught East Bay swarms.

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