Bees ingest the nectar of plants and flowers only to regurgitate it (after it has mixed with enzymes in the bees stomach) like honey. The honey is placed into cells and capped with wax. In order for bees to survive the winter, they have to have sufficient Honey stored in the hive… Because that is their FOOD! Bees will also eat sugar syrup (thick sugar water).

They do also eat pollen, but it’s not a main food source and is actually mixed with honey and mostly used for royal jelly that the larva eat.

Because honey bees in Arizona, such as African honey bees, do not experience long weeks of cold weather, they do not need to build large and well-insulated nests, produce thousands of workers or store large amounts of honey. For a honey bee in a tropical habitat, swarming depends largely on the abundance of food sources, rather than seasonal factors. However, regardless of living in tropical or temperate climates, honey bees maintain their hives with a constant temperature of 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

People often think that bees create hives in trees. While this is true, bees in the wild will make their hives in trees or bushes for protection, in rule areas they find other avenues. Rule area bees often nest in the ground but can be found above ground around patio areas or decks. They will sometimes build their nests in attics or under roof beams. If disturbed, bumblebees will buzz in a loud volume, and they will aggressively defend their nests.

In temperate zone species, in the autumn, young queens (“gynes”) mate with males (drones) and diapause during the winter in a sheltered area, whether in the ground or in a man-made structure. In the early spring, the queen comes out of diapause and finds a suitable place to create her colony. Then she builds wax cells in which to lay her fertilized eggs from the previous winter. The eggs that hatch develop into female workers, and in time the queen populates the colony, with workers feeding the young and performing other duties similar to honey bee workers. New reproductives are produced in autumn, and the queen and workers die, as do the males.

Because bee colonies can be extremely large and removal can be very messy, only a pest management professional or experienced beekeeper can safely remove a honeybee nest. We urge you not to go near them and not to interact with the hive, as they will defend it with their lives. We do live bee removal so that the bees can continue to keep our fields and flowers alive. Please call us to set up a free consultation and have us assess the problem.