Bee Hotel California
Giving fuzzy, flying friends a home here at NHMLA
Originally published on June 7th, 2011
Bee Hotels: We here at the Museum really like bees, so much so that we are building them a hotel! This hotel will contain over 200 deluxe suites for native bees. We've specifically designed the hotel to accommodate various solitary bees found in L.A. We'll keep you posted as we see what moves in. Thanks to exhibit fabricator, Jerome Brown, the hotels are nearly ready to be put out in the Butterfly Pavilion yard.
Swarm!: It seems that other bees have heard how luxurious our accommodations are and stopped by to check them out! Last Friday we got reports of a European honey bee, Apis mellifera, mass in one of the Magnolia trees on the west side of the Museum. Brent "the Bug Guy" Karner, went to check it out and took this picture below, thanks Brent!
This mass of bees is called a swarm and likely contains over 1,000 bees! Swarming is a natural part of a honey bee colony lifecycle and provides the colony with a means of reproducing. This is the season for seeing swarms, as colonies have increased in size and no longer comfortably fit in their nests. In preparation for this big move, the old queen lays eggs that will turn into new queens and she takes off with about half of the colony to find new a new home. If you come across a honey bee swarm, don't worry, since they are all adults with no nest to defend, they are not quick to sting.