THE QUINTESSENTIAL QUEEN BACKYARD BEES AND BEE REMOVAL BY IVY CIOLLI
W
hat makes a queen bee, queen? Well, in my household that’s an easy answer. My daughter holds that title and her name happens to start with a B. My little queen bee also happens to fit the definition I found online: A queen bee is well taken care of. She’s fed, groomed, and cleaned by her sisters (me)! But in the world of bees, becoming a queen is quite different—or is it really? My curiosity about natural selection to become queen bee was prompted while playing a game of outdoor hide-and-seek with our children. “Bee-ing” under quarantine in Arizona has its privileges, considering our climate this time of year. The game began with my son deciding to hide in our fig tree. Upon doing so, he discovered a swarm of bees. There were literally thousands of bees piled on top of one another. At the time, we had no idea about swarms or their resting stage. And we would later learn that these worker bees surround the queen to protect her while others leave to scout out a permanent residence. Considering it was evening time, I resigned myself to the fact that we wouldn’t be able to find a solution until the next morning. Unbeknownst to me, my husband contacted a company to come remove the bees, unaware of the fact that their solution was to exterminate. This contradicts my philosophy of protecting nature.
14
greenliving | May 2020
I immediately sent them on their way and quickly grabbed my honey jar from the local farmers’ market. Fortunately, Arizona Beetanical Garden honey company answered my call and led me to the AZ Bee Removal and Keepers Facebook page. There, I found one of their members, Allen, a pioneer of bee farming. Allen Hutchison has been caring for bees since 1978. He immediately offered to drive from Wickenburg for a nominal fee to remove the swarm. His fee was 15% of the cost of the exterminators. Imagine that! It was refreshing to see that humane help costs a fraction of the cost of toxic extermination. Needless to say, we tipped him well! Unfortunately, my husband’s fear was fueled by the advice of the exterminating company. They had convinced him that all Arizona bees are Africanized and must be killed. But knowing that bees play a vital role in the Earth’s food chain through pollination, and myself being The Queen of Green, I knew there had to be a better solution. Now back to the buzz of my article… I was unaware that these swarms existed and that the queen travels with her entourage. According to www.carolinahoneybees.com: “There are only 2 occasions for Her Royal Majesty to leave greenlivingaz.com
