>Gordy Allen-Wardell wrote: >......Bees in this part of the world don't build nests on exposed >limbs......... I'm new to beekeeping (I'm in the process of assembling 2 hives for this spring). Gordy's statement has me wondering about something I saw about 3 years ago. I have a red oak 20 yards or so from my house. The lowest limb, 8 to 10 feet from the ground, is about 5 to 10 degrees above horizontal. A swarm of bees built three combs (about 12 x 18 inches)on the underside of the limb near the trunk. They drew out the combs and then disappeared. I removed the combs and found none capped, no larvae, and as far as I could tell, no eggs. The tree is in full sun and the canopy provides only broken shade at best. Is it that odd to see wild bees do this? Did I see something extraordinary without realizing it? ------------------------------------- | Thomas G. Paschall, Jr. | | Beech Island, South Carolina USA | | [log in to unmask] | -------------------------------------