My wife found this bug sitting next to one of the hives. It is MUCH bigger than a bee. By the time I got there she had killed it so I could see what it was. Does anyone have a clue as to what this is?http://www.zunibee.com/files/photos/33e75ff09dd601bL.jpgIt would take about four or five bees to make the same length and about 2 1/2 bees for height.....
That's a hornet and I just watched a video linked on this site of a bunch of these hornets wiping out a beekeeper's colony. Good job on killing it - he is not your bees' friend.
New queens prepare nest sites in the spring, usually during April and May. The new queen builds a paper comb, lays a small number of eggs, and rears the first generation of offspring herself. This first generation develops into non-reproductive females (workers) that are responsible for defending and enlarging the nest and feeding and grooming the developing offspring.