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This honeybee’s nest is probably from a domesticated beehive, a swarm has followed a queen leaving a hive to start a new colony, the swarm would normally be collected by a beekeeper to start a new hive. Although this nest I filmed was high up in a tree at a local nature reserve and have turned wild (feral) which they are quite capable of doing, usually nesting in a hole in a tree. If a new swarm starts a nest in a manmade structure like a cavity wall of a building then the hive may have to be destroyed. Honey bees survive the winter by feeding on stored food collected in the summer, this nest was photographed in December and many dead bees lay on the ground, probably from the bees on the outside which are protecting the hive which were exposed more to the frosty weather. As a hive community normally would be kept alive during winter feeding on food collected in the spring and stored in the honeycomb cells. What I thought was very interesting, even on a cold December morning with low sun there were bees flying in and out of the nest.
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