Got a call yesterday evening about honeybees in a tree and in a house. The caller assured me they were honey bees. :roll: I thought it would be a wild goose chase, but went this morning anyway. Yep, you guess it, it was a wild goose chase. The bees in the tree are bald-faced hornets, and the house is home to a nice colony of yellow jackets. Well, it was a good day for a drive through the countryside.
i have them take pictures and email me if i have doubt.
the flip side of your story is one i had earlier this year. the guy called me and told me that there had been bees flying in and out of his tree for days. he was sure it was a swarm. i was sure it was probably a paper-wasp nest. in this area, swarms don't hang around for days!
i checked, and sure enough, it was a honeybee swarm. a nice one!