The hornets are gone. Now we have some bees.

[seabear]

The hornets are gone. We never had a problem with them.

Now we have a bunch of bees. Some people are terrified, and say we should try to get rid of them. My wife says they bring good luck. I told her to count them and buy a lottery ticket.

I am not scared of them, I just wonder if they will build a nest, and hopfully pruduce some honey.

[seabear]

[dick dasterdly]

As bees and hornets here don't follow me around, I'm not much bothered by any of them. But a friend of mine (who has lived here many more years) saw a circular type bee nest hanging from a low branch in my garden and said he wouldn't come back until it was gone.

I was suprised as I'd been standing close to it for a few days, watering pot plants - and they'd never shown any signs of aggression. Unfortunately for the bees, he made a v good point that one of my dogs might bump into the tree and be attacked .

[watcharacters]

Thanks for the post and pics.

I agree about bees. But while bees are cool, I keep a respectful attitude towards hornets.

And while I'm not into killing creatures other than flies, cockroaches and mosquitoes, I don't mind creating a dead yellow jacket.

[curtklay]

Dick Dasterdly:

If you were standing near the bee nest watering pot plants, no wonder they weren't aggressive. They're stoned!

[Kabula]

Be thankful there are bees!

Don't kill them, only if they are aggressive. Just ignore them.

They are dying off worldwide and when they are gone we will have major problems.

Everyone should research the importance of bees and all living species.

When they become extinct, we do too!

[Catoni]

Just be sure they are actually honey bees, and not some kind of Yellow Jacket wasp. Many people confuse the two of them

A lot of people call Yellow Jacket wasps "bees".... totally wrong. Yellow Jackets are much more aggressive.. Real bees usually never bother you unless you aggravate them. But a lot of people don't know the difference..

[Catoni]

Be thankful there are bees!

Don't kill them, only if they are aggressive. Just ignore them.

They are dying off worldwide and when they are gone we will have major problems.

Everyone should research the importance of bees and all living species.

When they become extinct, we do too!

"When they become extinct, we do too!"

Wrong....... no we won't. There are all kinds of other bugs that pollinate plants... and they are even at work developing tiny flying drones that will pollinate..

But as much as bees are having it rough right now... it's probably not the first time they've had it rough.. They've been around about 35 million years, and have survived many warnings of the Earth and many very cold Glacial Periods... and Ice Ages.... and times when the planet was so warm it had no ice at all.

The problem is called "Colony Collapse Disorder" and it appears now to have something to do with a class of pesticides that have been in common use, called neonicotinoids. In Europe, they have called for a two year restriction on the use of neonicotinoids. An 11 year long British study has now shown a distinct link between agricultural use of neonicotinoids around the world.. and bee colony collapse.

1. G. E. Budge, D. Garthwaite, A. Crowe, N. D. Boatman, K. S. Delaplane, M. A. Brown, H. H. Thygesen, S. Pietravalle (August 20, 2015). "Evidence for pollinator cost and farming benefits of neonicotinoid seed coatings on oilseed rape". Scientific Reports. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
2. Coco McPherson (August 26, 2015). "Pesticides Killing Bees: Study Shows What 'Everybody's Suspected'". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2016

So it looks like we now know the cause.... and measures can now be taken to address the problem.

You can relax now.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Catoni

[menzies233]

As bees and hornets here don't follow me around, I'm not much bothered by any of them. But a friend of mine (who has lived here many more years) saw a circular type bee nest hanging from a low branch in my garden and said he wouldn't come back until it was gone.

I was suprised as I'd been standing close to it for a few days, watering pot plants - and they'd never shown any signs of aggression. Unfortunately for the bees, he made a v good point that one of my dogs might bump into the tree and be attacked .

Sounds like "Taw Hua Sua" they can kill you. I got stung twice on my arm, next day my arm was bigger than my thigh and I had to use my other arm to lift it onto the car steering wheel. 3 kids were killed over the river from me a few years back when they thought it would be a good idea to poke sticks in one of those nests.

[meatboy]

a death reported last week. see isaan forum.

[jeab1980]

We have 3 nests on land great for our honey and bee eggs yummy. They never bother us and help to keep the garden plants going in English polination I think.

when husband collect honey he uses smoke never been bite by them.

[lucky11]

We have just had 3 nests removed from under the roof of our Thai house and we got 5 whiskey bottles of honey out of it!! At 500 baht a bottle we could sell them for 2,500 baht but decided to keep one bottle and give the rest to our friends (and the 2 Thai workers who removed them).

[The Deerhunter]

If Thai hornets are like Asian hornets in other countries that I have experience with they or another swarm will probably re-colonize that nest next season. Get rid of it before this happens and be alert to any attempts to build another one there or anywhere else on or near your house. These nests are much prized by Thais as an ornament . You may even get someone to pay you for them to take it away but get rid of it ASAP!

We had one just like that on the ground in our orchard and although they were cool and did not attack us, we did have a no-go zone around it. We did not have to "get rid " of it as someone "stole" it and saved us the trouble.

[bazza40]

We have just had 3 nests removed from under the roof of our Thai house and we got 5 whiskey bottles of honey out of it!! At 500 baht a bottle we could sell them for 2,500 baht but decided to keep one bottle and give the rest to our friends (and the 2 Thai workers who removed them).

500 baht a bottle? You can buy them in the Burmese market on Friday morning in Chiang Mai for 120 baht each.

[carken]

Be thankful there are bees!

Don't kill them, only if they are aggressive. Just ignore them.

They are dying off worldwide and when they are gone we will have major problems.

Everyone should research the importance of bees and all living species.

When they become extinct, we do too!

Excellent post Kabula ... 2 bad more people don't understand this increasing problem nor its gravity. We have giant very evil big biz like Monsanto to thank 4 that

[dick dasterdly]

As bees and hornets here don't follow me around, I'm not much bothered by any of them. But a friend of mine (who has lived here many more years) saw a circular type bee nest hanging from a low branch in my garden and said he wouldn't come back until it was gone.

I was suprised as I'd been standing close to it for a few days, watering pot plants - and they'd never shown any signs of aggression. Unfortunately for the bees, he made a v good point that one of my dogs might bump into the tree and be attacked .

Sounds like "Taw Hua Sua" they can kill you. I got stung twice on my arm, next day my arm was bigger than my thigh and I had to use my other arm to lift it onto the car steering wheel. 3 kids were killed over the river from me a few years back when they thought it would be a good idea to poke sticks in one of those nests.

Do you know the English/Latin name for these bees, so that I can 'google' the nest of that type of bee?

You could well be right, as the friend was insistent that they were v dangerous.

[dick dasterdly]

Be thankful there are bees!

Don't kill them, only if they are aggressive. Just ignore them.

They are dying off worldwide and when they are gone we will have major problems.

Everyone should research the importance of bees and all living species.

When they become extinct, we do too!

Excellent post Kabula ... 2 bad more people don't understand this increasing problem nor its gravity. We have giant very evil big biz like Monsanto to thank 4 that

Even though I agree entirely with both of you, the situation changes when there's a bee nest that can easily be aggravated by dogs bumping into the small tree from which the nest (not much above eye level) is hanging...

As a child, I never understood why others were running around, terrified when a wasp came near them - even though I'd been stung as a small child when rescuing a wasp (with my finger...) from a washing up bowl. They could land on my arm, and I knew that it wasn't a problem unless I frightened it by moving suddenly.

In my early 20s) I went on a holiday to Ireland - in an area filled with fuschias and, subsequently wasps..... They were everywhere, and as wasps (in the UK) tend to follow you, I became phobic - running like a lunatic when one followed me...

Here in Thailand, its rare for a bee or hornet to follow you - so although I'm still wary, I'm not as bothered and will move bees/hornets from the house using a glass and bit of cardboard to get them back out into the garden.