| By :
Stephen Daniels
While many people are aware of the critical role that honeybees play in the ecosystem, hives found in or near homes or businesses can be scary and dangerous for residents or workers. Today most bee removal services must be trained in the life cycle of bees, among other factors, to be best equipped to handle the hives with minimal damage and stress to the bees. There are basically two types of pest removal businesses in the U.S., those that kill all the bees and then remove the hive, and those that take all possible precautions to preserve the lives of the bees, while helping home and business owners rid their properties of unwanted pests. Environmentally responsible citizens usually choose the eco-friendly bee catcher businesses, who after removal will either give or sell all hives to beekeepers so the invaders can be returned to the fields to pollinate plants and flowers as soon as possible. Honeybee life cycles vary depending on several factors including: - the role each bee plays in keeping a hive healthy and functioning - the environment where the hive is kept - time of year when bees mature and begin to take active roles in the hive These roles include the queen who is in charge of laying the eggs for the entire hive; the drones whose job is to impregnate the queen; and the worker bees who have tasks ranging from feeding the queen, taking care of newly hatched bee larvae, gathering pollen and defending the hive. Queen bees can live up to two years, drones live only long enough to mate with the queen; and a worker bee's lifespan ranges from 40 to 140 days depending on the season. In the spring, summer and fall worker bees are kept incredibly busy, primarily by gathering pollen for the production of honey to feed the young. A healthy queen can lay up to 2000 eggs each day, which means the workers must tend to all of those eggs to ensure a healthy hive. It's not uncommon for worker bees to literally be worked to death during these busy months - resulting in a short life span of only about 40 days. Some bees will be found walking about on the ground due to beating their wings to tatters, so the worker bee is unable to return to the hive. In the wet, cold months of winter, some honeybee hives exhibit a certain level of stress brought on by a lack of incoming food--since flowers and crops are not producing pollen. A weak or failing queen that has slowed down brood production can also create stress within a hive as workers lack enough to do to keep them busy. Proactive beekeepers will do all they can to keep hives thriving during the winter months so they can start the new production year with a healthy and vital hive. Failing queens are often replaced with a healthier queen at this time of year. Even healthy queens must have their diets supplemented, since the honey is taken for sale. Queens and workers alike are often fed sugary syrup to keep her productive and the workers strong. Bee boxes are sometimes wrapped to keep them warm, dry, and free of ice. Because workers are not out foraging for pollens, winter born bees usually have a much longer life span than workers born during other times of year. Different bee species do better in colder climates than others do. Beekeepers often move their hives to different environments for overwintering and keeping them as strong as possible for the spring crop months ahead. Beekeepers who understand the life cycle of bees and the needs of particular species will have a better understanding of how to deal with an unwanted hive found in someone's home or on business property, regardless of the time of year it is found. By managing the bees in a way that does them no harm, a productive hive can be put to use in another area, providing an environmental benefit to the community at large.
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