war.

its waged.

This time with reinforcements.








I was out admiring the hives today pondering what the crap might be going on inside them at this time (nothing new) when I saw it. A chick-a-dad killer.  Or better known as a Cicada killer ransacking my hive. (don't ask about previous name..)

Whats a chickadad killer?


Exhibit A:

But just picture this (insert swear word of your choosing here) about two feet big.

Ok maybe not TWO feet but at least two inches.
And that's no exaggeration.


So I know that at this time of year when Templeton is at the carnivals collecting 'crunchy," signs (anyone?) that the wasp and other such bee's will be trying to get into my hives to get honey.
(Little do they know there is none)


Wasp of the paper kind- hornets, yellow jackets of all sizes are buzzing about at the end of summer. And they seem to get the signal call when I open the hives. They buzz about smelling the hives sweet smell trying to get in.  The honies attack and the wasp usually give up.

So upon looking at the weaker hive that I have recently merged (that has an entrance reducer (thank goodness)) I saw them.

I knew that they were there.
Even suspecting them as the ones that came and robbed previously.
Saw them try to get in before.
Know where they live.



They live in my house.


WHAT WHAT?!

Yes, friends. We have these giant bee's (if you should even call them that. I prefer mutant (insert swear word of your choosing here)) in a crack of our house, on the outside. They are not inside our house as in, watching TV with us each night, but more or less making a nest in a minuscule crack beneath a gutter in the back of our house.

You can at any given moment of the night be whacked upside the head by one if you happen to be closing up a chick coop with a flashlight. (which I happen to be doing every night)
And let me tell you. I may play with hundred of thousands of bee's (for fun) but I am scared (insert swear word here) -less of these things.

David has been pretty regularly spraying them with poison every week at night (cause I'm too scared too) but they keep coming back.  My guess is that the brood is hatching and since the crack in our brick house is home- they (the newly hatched babies) then themselves lay their brood which hatch and do the  same. (They are in fact a communal bee)

I've watched them for a few weeks now. Although I am terrified of these mutant sized bombers I am still interested (because I like bees and bee things). And they appear to be "kind of"  interesting.

The mutants have a bee line across the field (like my honey gals) but other than that I didn't know what else they do (beside kill cicadas, drag them into their lair, lay an egg in them, and wait for their brood to hatch)

But today I saw it.

One at my hive.

No biggie I thought.

Can't get in.

Honies will kick its ass.

It will take off?

Oh No.

I came to the entrance.

Fell.

Got back up.

With a honey bee in hand (or four)

and took off.

Its taking my bees.

This is war.

Tonight.

Its on like Donkey Kong.

I hated that game.

I was scared of the monkey.

I'm scared of these bees.

But enough is enough.

You've over stayed your boring welcome.

Tonight this Yank will get the Rebs.




(calling "suspect," on wiki.  These wasp are not solitary nor are they non threatening.  I'm watching as they live with many other wasp in my house
as well as seen one sting a visitor while they were being "non threatening."  They also bop me upside the head each night just for carrying a flashlight near them)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus