A Back Yard Bee Mystery

[ordnanceguy]

Gentlemen:

I am calling upon the collective wisdom and experience of the forum to help me figure out what is going on here.

This morning I walked into my back yard to water my orchids. Before I got to that I noticed something strange on the ground, and then saw several others nearby within 6-8 feet or so. It was 4 bee honeycombs just laying flat on the ground. Three were about the size of a dinner plate and the fourth was about the size of a salad plate. All had some bees buzzing around.

How did they get there? They were under the very broad canopy of a type of banyan tree known as a strangler fig. It is huge, probably 80 feet high.
About 10 years ago, after a hurricane, I had some tree work done on it and the tree guys told me they had run into a bee hive about 15 feet above the ground in a hollow in the trunk. It was very hard to see from the ground but I was able to detect some bees flitting in and out. I told the tree guys to leave them alone and to discontinue any work on that side of the tree. That area is about 25-30 feet away from where I found the honeycombs so I don't think it likely that they fell out of the hive location that I saw 10 years ago.

Anyway, I carefully picked up the 4 pieces and propped them up against a nearby sabal palm trunk so that both sides of the honeycombs could be accessed by the hovering bees. They were sticky with honey. I was a little worried about getting stung but I moved slowly and not a single bee threatened me. The bees were not swarming as I understand that term.

Here are the honeycombs where I placed them. (Clicking on the photos will enlarge them.)





In trying to figure out how they got there I wondered if perhaps some animal had breached the hive and gotten the combs out. Here in suburban Miami there are no bears (that I know of) but we do have the occasional raccoon, fox and opossum. We also have a wide variety of lizards and other exotics although I have drawn a line in the sand on iguanas. This is a No Iguana Zone. Since the combs did not appear to have been chewed upon, broken or visibly damaged I discarded that idea.

We had some rain and light wind yesterday but the tree canopy directly above the combs did not appear to have any likely areas for a hive or a hollow where bees might be. If so, they would have fallen about 40-50 feet and would likely have appeared more damaged.

Although I know that bees are essential in nature I don't know much beyond that. Count me as bee-sympathetic but mostly bee-ignorant.

So, can anyone speculate on what happened here? Did I do the right thing moving the honeycombs? Is there anything else I should have done? I like the idea of having bees in the yard and want to foster their well-being.

Thanks for any ideas you might have.

Regards,
Charlie

 

[Onomea]

Not particularly knowledgable about bees, but:

My guess is a honey-loving animal of some sort dislodged them. I don't think they can make a go of the original honeycombs now placed against the tree. I think they will either need to go back to the original hive and rebuild, or move off elsewhere.

 

[LVSteve]

I don't think iguanas have a sweet tooth. I would guess bird as the honey comb appeared undamaged. They had probably picked out the grubs they wanted by the time you saw the wreckage.

 

[6518John]

Charlie—I bet you have a bear.

Bear spotted in Homestead. Here's what to do if you encounter one - CBS Miami

 

[SMSgt]

Those combs look fairly old. Perhaps some remodeling is going on. Good luck with the iguana war. Trying to send a few here on to the great iguana land in the sky.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Those combs look like a pair of lungs I saw in an anti smoking film shown in health class in '67.

 

[LVSteve]

What do you folks in Florida have against the iguanas? All I've ever seen them do is laze about. Hardly a threat.

 

[SMSgt]

What do you folks in Florida have against the iguanas? All I've ever seen them do is laze about. Hardly a threat.

They cause a lot of damage. They are non-native invasive animals that breed like crazy. Look where the constrictor problem has gone. The state let that go too long before issuing a kill season on them.

 

[soFlaNative]

Odd.
Bees do have underground hives in So. Fla. yet I'm not sure if they burrow or move into some sort of cavity. My only experience of the sort has been while working in water meter boxes.
My best guess would be a coon. Combs are tough and would probably survive a considerable drop relatively unscathed and Rocky can be pretty slick while maneuvering objects.

What do you folks in Florida have against the iguanas? All I've ever seen them do is laze about. Hardly a threat.

Disregarding the spiny and marine varieties and speaking only for green they are an incredible nuisance and invasive species. The hundreds sunning themselves on any canal bank stay busy while not lazing about. They are omnivores, spending time in tree canopies feeding in bird nests and spewing osprey sized equivalents of a urine and fecal matter combination only coming to ground to feed on ornamental and vegetable plants.
At three feet or so they're not quite as slick climbing trees so they tend to remain on the ground, feeding and defecating, retreating to burrows that tend to be under foundations... house, swimming pools, boat ramps, sea walls etc.
I cant kill them fast enough just around my house.

 

[mojave30cal]

Contact a beekeeper.

 

[ordnanceguy]

Thanks, guys. I am going to conclude that some type of animal went after the hive and got the honey combs. That makes the most likely scenario.

A local pal of mine said to me "It is nature at work. Don't do anything." I conclude that he is right, although if something odd likes this happens again in the back yard I might start thinking about a game camera setup.

Regards,
Charlie