Swarming bees

[Shawn]

ON Saturday I went to Colorado Springs for a wedding. Outside the church I noticed bees flying around everywhere. Right now there are a few trees and some flowers blooming but I dont think enough for the bees. Anyway, after the wedding was over everyone went outside to see the couple away. Somone of cource put pop cans on the bumpers of the vehicle. I noticed more and more bees arriving and going for the pop cans and punch glasses. I kid you not there had to be over 100 bees swarming the cans and glasses. Everyone was swatting at the bees and scared. Once the couple got away everyone started to leave. I poured out the glasses of punch onto the pavement where no one, the bees, would get hit. Within minutes the area of punch was covered in bees. I noticed one on her back in the liquid doing the back stroke. I helped her out and went on with the day. I think the hive was located under the porch of the church but I could not find them.

[Michael Bush]

Are you sure they aren't yellow jackets?  I've never seen honey bees that interested in pop.

[Bennettoid]

Are you sure they aren't yellow jackets?  I've never seen honey bees that interested in pop.

I have. My daughter spilled a can of grape soda on a patio table last summer and the girls were all over it in minutes.

Its just sugar water.

[Scadsobees]

We had a nice day on Saturday, and unfortuneately there are very few flowers and trees blooming yet.

The bees obviously had little to do and were searching for anything of interest, smell or color.  I did put out some syrup for them, and am confident that if I had anything else sugary they would have been all over it.

I don't think that yellow jackets are interested in sugary stuff in the spring, and even so there would only be overwintered queens at this point in the year.

Rick

[Michael Bush]

But it's not very rich sugar water.  I have seen a bee work some spilled pop once in a while, but I haven't seen them show up in swarms.

[Jerrymac]

If we leave plastic trash bags out side with pop cans the bees get into the bags. Bunches of them. They seem to prefer Dr. Pepper (my drink of choice) more than the others.

In the past week I have killed (squished) more than thirty wasp going for the sugary stuffs around here.

[Scott Derrick]

Yep...I've seen that before as well. I saw a bunch on cups of starbuck's coffee today believe it or not. About four of them sucking up coffee out of one of the small recesses in the lid. Crazy!

[Shawn]

Oh yes they were honey bees and lots of them.When I was growing up my parents always told me to never leave my soda can lay around because of the bees. A few peoople I know have been stung by drinking a soda and a bee comes out with the soda and stings them in the mouth.

[tillie]

Here in Atlanta it is quite common for yellow jackets to fly into soda cans and to sting the drinker, but I've never seen a honeybee do that - what an unusual situation you found.

Linda T