Subject: Questions from a non-bee person, all help appreciated.

From: [email-masked] ()
Date: 27 Jun 1994 17:47:21 GMT

Hello-
I have two questions for anyone who cares to answer.

a)  My house has shingles on it, and in one particular section around the
    door to the balcony on the second floor I believe there are very large
    "bee hives".  The quotes are because I am not sure there really *are*
    hives, or for that matter I am not entirely sure they are bees.  This
    sounds goofy (and I am not an idiot, really!)....  But these little guys
    don't look like usual bees.  They are the shape of a honey bee (not a big
    bumble bee), but they are all black.  They are not flies, they are not
    hornets (I am starting to sound like Dr. Seuss).  They crawl between the
    shingles and dissappear - and they have about 5 favorite entry spots 
    distributed on either side of the door.  There are two areas they go into
    both of which are between the door and the windows and about 4 feet wide
    and 7 feet tall.  They have been there for years, and I am afraid that
    one day the wall is going to collapse or they will start coming out inside
    of the house (aaaaaaaaugh).  What does this sound like to you?  They are
    not active in the winter, so far as I have seen.

b)  Are there any beekeepers in Western-ish Washington that would take another 
    person along on bee-rounds sometime?  I would really love to learn more
    in real-time (not only reading ....), but I know relatively little about 
    beekeeping, and don't forsee a time when I could keep bees.  But I am still
    interested ...

Thanks,
Rebecca

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From: [email-masked] (Michael Moroney)
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 23:46:18 GMT

>     bumble bee), but they are all black.  They are not flies, they are not

I once asked about a bee I spotted that looked like a honeybee but was all
black.  I was told it may be a carpenter bee.  If yours are, they could be
damaging your house.  Are the wings dark, but still transparent?  Do they have
yellow hairs on the thorax?  (same color yellow as the yellow hairs on a
bumblebee)

-Mike