We've been invaded!

[onthefly]

kk, thanks Epacris

Cancelled the pest control and have got in touch with the beeman.

Ahhh, happy ending.
I think if we get more bees I'll try and get DH to buy some tame ones cause the feral girls are nasty *****es (though they do seem to be more productive)

[Lulu]

How can you tell the difference between feral and ladylike?

[Trillian]

Lulu the native bees don't look anything like the european bees at all. The european bees are the ones that look like Bee Movie bees LOL

[Lulu]

Mmmkay, haven't seen it. So if a European Wasp is huge and bright yellow, are the bees generally bigger too? Brighter colours etc?

[onthefly]

native bees are small and black and don't sting you. I think they make cylindrical hives too, or somethign like that.
Feral honeybees are very agro, as opposed to ones that have been raised by a beekeeper. Our first hive is ex-feral, taken from a swarm like the one at Eluned's place. They will arc up if you so much as look at thier hive - DH is always getting stung through his suit.
The ladylike ones will let you poke around in their hive before they get shirty (as long as the weather is good and they're mostly off collecting pollen).

[Phteven]

The European bees are the ones that look like cartoon bees. The native ones kinda look like flies and they're not very big. I'm not sure if they are all stingless but I know that some are.
Photo Gallery of Australian Native Bees

I rode into a flying swarm on my horse once (or maybe it flew into me, one moment I was minding my own business the next I'm in the middle of thousands of bees) - scariest moment ever. I love my old mare for being so calm and not freaking out.

[Laranna]

Good news, the bee man came today and collected them all (well there are still a few buzzing around, he couldn't catch ALL of them). He said they hadn't been there long maybe since yesterday, ie. when I noticed the swarm. They had started building their home in my bbq and had already started making the honeycomb! It took him about 45 minutes to get them all into his bee box. He said they were all lady bees too and the queen was a young one.

[ss_storm]

good to hear they have been relocated! Don;t worry about the strays...now the queen has gone they should move on...but a couple of bees is better than a whole hive!