Bees Swarm Broadway Business

 

I came across this swarm of bees at 3pm today on Broadway near Maryland.  Downtown Glendale seems to have a ton of bee related activity that I've previously documented here, here and here.  What causes this type of bee swarm?

From Wikipedia:

 Swarming is the natural means of reproduction of honey bee colonies. A new honey bee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees, a process called swarming. In the prime swarm, about 60% of the worker bees leave the original hive location with the old queen. This swarm can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees. Swarming is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two- or three-week period depending on the locale, but occasional swarms can happen throughout the producing season.

I saw this particular swarm as I was coming back from lunch.  The fire department put some tape around the scene and then left.  When I walked around the block a few hours later the bees were gone.  I'm not sure if they were removed or left on their own.

 A few hours later, there were just a few stragglers left, probably wondering where the party went.

What do you do if there is a swarm in your backyard -- or office?  According to my friend - and amateur apiarist - Erik Knutzen, you can call the local volunteers from the non-profit Backwards Beekeepers' bee rescue hotline.  If you're lucky, their A-Team of Bee-keepers will help you out.

The volunteers of the Backwards Beekeepers save wild bees in the Los Angeles area and make new beekeepers through education and helpful guidance. If you have a swarm that's easily reachable, or bees living in some easily accessible area (NOT a chimney), we may be able to help you. 

The Backwards Beekeepers also have a list of for-profit bee removal firms that specialize in live bee removal and don't use harmful chemicals.

Erik blogs at Root Simple and, with his wife Kelly, writes books about urban homesteading that are available from Amazon here and here.

links:

• Backwards Beekeepers: Bee Rescue Hotline
• Root Simple
• Making It
• The Urban Homestead

Previously on Tropico Station:

• Bees At Brand and Wilson!
• More Downtown Bees
• Bee Industrious

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Two Car Accidents and Some Light Insurance Fraud!

Today kicked off in glorious, only-in-Glendale fashion: with two car accidents and some light insurance fraud!

My colleagues and I heard a car horn on Broadway. We looked outside and witnessed the aftermath of a minor car accident. An Acura TSX wagon had bumped the rear of a Toyota Camry. Both cars stopped in the middle of Broadway, with the TSX's horn stuck and blaring away. As we observed this sad spectacle, a silver Mercedes eyeballing the first accident rear-ended an Audi SUV!

The damaged luxury cars sensibly pulled forward to the other side of Maryland, while the Camry and TSX continued to tie up Broadway. It took ten minutes, two cops and a passerby with a wrench to turn the TSX's horn off. The woman driving the TSX was fine, but the man in the Camry, after initially walking around normally, put on a big show and was taken away in an ambulance; tying up a fire truck, a ton of firefighters, and the ambulance for the better part of a half hour.

A guy involved in the second accident removes the damaged grill of his Mercedes.

As we watched this scene unfold, the perception among my co-workers was that the guy in the Camry was dramatically overplaying the severity of the accident and was hoping for a settlement.

Mr. Wimpypants taken away by a brigade of firefighters and paramedics.

Zero visible damage on Mr. Wimpypants' car!

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