The heat here in Oklahoma has the bees stirred up!
 
I recently came home from travelling to news of a bee colony that had relocated to my back yard! This is exciting news, because we’ve all been reading about disappearing bees. The reason for the plunging populations of bees ranges from a bee fungus to pesticide use. Not good news for anyone who likes to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts or anything that develops from a flowering plant which requires pollination.

My husband noticed that bees were using the rock bubbler fountain in the back yard, and not just one bee – dozens of them, coming and going for over an hour. He tracked one of the little buzzers to a tree about twenty yards away – and found a cluster of bees the size of a football. He called several bee keepers for advice. One of them was able to come out to the house, but by then the entire bee bundle had  moved two more times, finally locating high up in a tree at the fork of three branches. Too high for the bee keeper to assist in moving the hive to a safer location, but a safer distance from our back patio.

We talked about getting a bee box to lure them down from the tree after the bee keeper told us the bees needed an enclosed space for a successful hive. But before we could act, the bees had moved on.

Bees are still visiting the bubbler these hot afternoons, but in small groups or one at a time. We haven’t yet found where they have relocated, but there are lots of trees in my forested neighborhood. Hopefully they have found a hollow trunk that will suit their needs.

My vegetable garden (if it hadn’t burnt up) would have liked having all those bees around to pollinate tomato and gourd blooms!