bit of a swarm

honey bees

This banner is going to give me nightmares! i can tolerate bees collecting pollen in my garden but a swarm is terrifying!

I had a swarm visit the garden once. Certainly demands some respect, but I thought it was kind of cool too! Love the banner, Dirt!

They are actually very peaceful and single-minded in a swarm--Asa stood in the middle of the vortex of them in awe and none of them paid any attention to him. They were pretty cooperative getting collected up too

Sorry Karen, please don't fret too much about it.

Thanks William!

Great banner, Dirt!

What are they swarming on?
Can we please see the whole pic?

They settled on our cherry tree.
I don't know which pic I made the banner from but here's one that almost shows the full scope of the thing

Was one of the neatest things I've ever experienced. I called our beekeeper, and she asked me to keep an eye and see where they lit and congregated...ultimately. She said they were not aggressive while swarming. So I watched...and stood in the middle of the swarm as it moved from east to west. The sound and feeling of it - just amazing! Almost religious. And they weren't interested me in the least. They landed on my shirt and in my hair and in my beard now and then - but kept going with the swarm. Took 20-30 mins to move maybe 100 feet. Imagine standing in the middle of a pillar of bees maybe 15 feet in diameter going up 20-30 feet high. Hard to describe. Such life - pure life. In awe.

What an awesome banner Dirt I've seen those swarms before. Amazing

The banner and the stories takes my breath away. I think I'd rather see it in photos than be physically part of the experience. Amazingly interesting.

This banner is the bees knees!

We do love our bees!

Excellent banner Dirt!

Amazing banner, Dirt! Great job.

That is pretty awesome! I've experienced bees swarming when I was young. It's amazing!

Dirt and Asa ~ It sounds like a very magical experience. Thank you for sharing your photos and the story to go along with it!

Thanks for sharing your pics & experiences, Dirt & Asa.....just realized you're a couple.
Sounds like you're having fun.

We're going camping in the desert tomorrow, and the first thing we do when we get there
is to put out a waterer for the bees. It's amazing how many bees are in the desert!
They swarm around me as I add more water, but have never been stung (yet )

Being in the middle of a giant swarm like Asa would certainly be an incredible life experience!

Fantastic!

What an awe-inspiring experience! I am happy just to see bees foraging in the gardens. But to see an entire swarm is breath taking! It is said a picture is worth a thousand words; this one is worth much more! Thanks for sharing.

Triple B, Beautiful Bee Banner, Dirt!

Love, love, love this banner!