caring for honey bees?

Question

Honey bees made a hive under the lid of my water meter box. The water company workers took the lid off and threw it to the side. I picked up the lid with the hive still attached and moved it to the back of my property in an out of the way place where it would be somewhat protected. Will the bees be okay after the move or will they go back and make another hive in the water meter?

Yes, there were honeycombs . I have lots of flowers, so I see honey bees in my gardens all the time but had never actually known of a hive on my property before this. I'm afraid the water company will spray them with insecticide if they go back to the water meter box. I tried to find local bee keepers, but none I found were interested. I'd like to save them.

Answer 1

They will want to be somewhere protected, and if they don't like the current setup, they'll swarm and find a new place. Bees are very calm when swarming. If you put the whole thing in some kind of well ventilated wooden box, they'd be more likely to stay.
Better yet, buy a hive, wear protective gear, and shake the whole lto of em into the new setup....make sure the queen gets in there too! She's a little longer than the others.

Answer 2

Honey bees like their hives to be well protected. Most likely, they will be looking for a new home, now that they are out in the open. If you want to keep them on your property, I suggest looking into some bee boxes. There are boxes specially designed with the sort of shape bees love, to facilitate their building of the hive.
What I would do, though, is check some local directories and see if there are any bee keepers in your area. I had bees in a porch column once, and my landlord was going to kill them with a spray. We were able to find a local bee keeper that came and got them and gave them a good home.
If you leave them in your yard, do not be worried if they start to swarm. When bees decide to move, they create a sort of temporary "hive" around the queen, composed entirely of the bees themselves. It looks like a giant bee ball, and can be a little intimidating. They will attach to tree branches or other secure spots while they're swarming, and when they move, it's like a giant flying bee mass. But they're actually the most harmless at this time, wishing to quickly get to safety with as little loss or harm to the queen as possible.

Answer 3

Are you sure it is honey bees and not wasps? Literally you found honeycombs?

A lot depends on the queen. If she survived and is okay with the new location, then the bees may continue to build their hive. Otherwise, they will likely move away to a new location.

It is unlikely the same bees will move back in to the water meter, especially since I would think that the water company will have sealed up any entrance to the water meter...they don't want their employees getting stung.