Some of you may remember the video I posted last year
of the bees flying in and out of my lovely ivy topiary
I had on my back porch last summer.
If you want to see it again click HERE.
I couldn't bring my ivy in the house when the
weather turned cold or we would have had a house
full of bees! This past spring I pulled it out
of the pot to see what the bees had been doing
in the dirt and found this. The bees were all
dead, unfortunately. I guess they didn't survive
the frozen winter either!
No bees, no topiary, but I do have these cool
combs by which to remember the whole thing!
♥
I think honey combs are beautiful works of art, they'd look perfect under your cloche.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to read they were not filled with bees, my husband was chopping down some scrub trees last week and bees attacked him out of the ground, before he could run to the house, they had stung him seven times !
Hugs,
~Jo
Ugh...poor him! Glad he wasn't allergic.
DeleteGood idea about the cloche! They are beautiful, aren't they?
I need to bring them inside. The stink bugs are trying to sleep
in them. haha.
Oh, wow!
ReplyDeleteHow do bees survive the winter?
I think they need to be underground. At least that is my guess.
DeleteOr maybe they go south?
The comb is a work of art.
ReplyDeleteIt really is! I was surprised how fragile this is...almost like a cross between
Deletepaper and ash. Very delicate.
We had some bees buzzing around the outside of our garage and discovered they had built a hive in the light fixture over the door. I am planning to wait until winter before trying to get rid of the hive. Don't want to risk it now, ha.
ReplyDeleteNope, not worth the risk! haha. I'm sure with your Chicago winters that they won't survive, unless you
Deleteleave that light on all the time!
Wow - that is pretty cool. They really are fragile. I couldn't get your video of the bees to load, but I do remember you posting it.
ReplyDeleteI checked the video link and it worked for me. Hopefully others won't have trouble!
DeleteHi Betsy - I bet you do something really worthwhile and pretty with those combs ... they are an amazing creation ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful! The only thing similar I really would love is a huge hornet's nest. I saw a gorgeous one at an antique mall last week with beautiful fall leaves attached. $50. Sigh. It was wonderful, though!
DeleteThey were sure going to town at your feed
ReplyDeleteGuess they didn't account for the cold taking seed
Which you like
Geez, making bees take a hike lol
They could have at least left me some honey
Deletefor me to use when it's warm and sunny. lol.
The video worked for me. Sorry you lost your topiary but the combs are beautiful. I too wonder where bees in cold climates go? We get wasp nests under the house eves but we spray them down as soon as we see them. Looking forward to where the combs land.
ReplyDeleteWe get those little wasp nests too. We try to knock them down before they get too big! haha.
DeleteEven though I'm highly allergic I love bees! Love watching them burrow into flowers and fly their chubby bodies hither and thither.
ReplyDeleteWe have several hives on the roof of the opera house in Toronto and they are kept on several hotel roofs as well.
In the winter, the worker bees all form a cluster in the middle of the hive to protect the queen bee. They take turns rotating around her so none of them get too cold. They survive on honey and some hives go through 30 pounds of honey in one winter.
I love bees!
I've heard that, too, and am wondering if these ran out of honey. The combs were totally empty and all the bees were in there but were dead.
DeleteI've been told that some types of bees survive the winter by huddling together and benefiting from their combined body warmth. Any member of the colony that flies away from the huddle, even slightly, usually dies almost immediately.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I guess they know not to go off on their own!
DeleteWhat huge honey combs
ReplyDeleteI know this. :)
Delete