Bees

What do bees look like? All bees have a head, a thorax (middle section), and an abdomen (end section). The head has their eyes, feelers, and tongue. The thorax has six legs and two wings. The abdomen has the breathing sacs, scent gland, wax gland, poison gland, and the stinger on the very end. Honey bees are hairy. They are yellow and black in colour. The back legs of the worker females have little sacs to carry pollen.

Behaviour - The many tasks of associated with maintaining the hive are divided among the worker bees in an age-based fashion (polytheism). That is, individual bees perform the tasks in a specific sequence. The youngest bees clean the cells for about 3 days, then they are nurses to the brood for several days. From days 10 to 20, the bees engage in building activities and pollen storage and reception. At around day 20, the bees stand guard at the hive entrance, and after a few days the bees become foragers. The bees will remain foragers until they die. This pattern, however, is flexible. Young bees raised in the absence of older foragers will begin to forage precociously. The mechanism underlying this age-based division of labour and its ability to respond to environmental changes is currently poorly understood.

Treatment Methods

Bees can become pests when they nest in undesirable places or resident of a particular property is allergic to bee stings which could be fatal. Common areas that bees nest in which in turn makes them a pest are.

Wall cavities- were bees enter via wall vents or gaps in mortar and can make a substantial nest inside the wall cavity.
Trees- bees can also nest in tree hollows or as a mass on a tree fork/ branch. This type of nesting in close proximity of a dwelling can be a real hazard to the occupants as the bees are more exposed to the elements and hence more aggressive.

Bee Control - The control of bees involves identifying the nest location and using the appropriate environmentally friendly insecticide formulation to eradicate the nest.

Treatment Time - can vary between 30 minutes - 1 hour depending on position and size of nest.