Bees around a light

[ziffabeek]

My neighbor told me that my bees spend a lot of time at her house.  She says she's always shooing them outside.  This surprised me because I never see them in mine, but I guess her house is closer, although it is behind the hive and not in the direction I usually see them flying.  She's cool with them, so that's not really the problem.

My question is, she told me that she saw a whole cluster of them "4-5 deep" hanging off of her light.  I forgot to ask her when this was (she was having a party at her house and was in a "happy" mood) but she kept insisting they were clinging to the light and there was a whole bunch of them.   Are bees attracted to light?  I always thought they went inside at night.  My hive still seems pretty full, though I need to get inside it, do you think they could have swarmed and I missed it?

Any thoughts?  I'm gonna try and get more information tonight.  Just been kind of wondering about the light thing. . .

Thanks!
liz

[tillie]

Bees are often attracted to light at night.  My hives are on my deck and if I turn the lights on on my sunporch that opens onto the deck, bees hit the windows as they fly into them.  By the same token, I keep the light off at night at my back kitchen door because even though it is 25 feet or more from the hive, the bees fly into it.  I've never seen them hanging from a light, however.

Indoors, where I often have bees who come in on the backs of the dogs, the bees commit suicide by flying into the ceiling lights or table lamps until they finally die.

Linda T in Atlanta

[irerob]

same here. have seen them bounce off  lights never just hang on though.

[ziffabeek]

Hmm, I never knew that.  I'm going to have to question her to find out more details.  Thanks for the replies!

ziffa

[JP]

You need to go over and look at her house. Walk around the entire exterior, in daylight. You are looking for "bee traffic" If a swarm indeed entered her home and established itself, you will see bees coming and going through some type of gap or opening. Be thorough in your inspection as an established hive could be anywhere.

Now, consider this, the bees could be yours or from a feral colony in the immediate area. Be nice and volunteer to help your neighbor if they ask for your help.

And as others have already mentioned, yes, bees are attracted to lights at night.

Another thing, quite often people will grossly exaggerate the amount of bees they see. Perhaps there were far less bees than said, maybe not, but be aware for potential exaggerations.


...JP

[ziffabeek]

Wow, JP, Thank you so much for that.  I hadn't even considered that they might have taken up residence in her house!  :shock:  I will do as you suggested this weekend to see if I see them coming in or leaving. 

I also hear you about the exaggeration,  that's why I didn't push her last night.  It seems to me that "partying" often encourages exaggeration as well :).

Thanks again.  Oh boy,  you guys might just be flooded with cut-out questions from me next . . . lol. 

Love,
ziffa

[lenape13]

I received a call a few months ago from my aunt claiming she couldn't get into her garage due to a swarm of  bees inside.  As she is allergic, and I am always looking for free bees, I drove right over, only to find four bees flying around a trash can full of empty soda cans.  Just as beauty, swarms are in the eye of the beholder.... :lol:

[sean]

I have done a couple of removals and seen bees congregating on light bulbs, one as recently as Monday. I was actually using the vaccum to suck them off. As soon as i cleared it more came back