Busy little bees

Last week, Leighton called my attention to some very large black bees that appeared around lunch time each day out on the patio.  I was watching them on Friday and happened to catch one slip up into the beams.  It was a total AHA! moment because for the last couple of months I've been trying to figure out what the yellow drippy stuff on the table and chairs is (some even dripped on Roy during our Easter Egg Hunt and we could not figure out what it was or where it came from!).  Upon closer inspection, I found several round holes that they were going in and out of.  Proud of my ability to piece all of this together, I took a quick picture so I could send it to Roy at work.  I never did email the photo, but it's coming in handy now as I share this with you!

On the weekend, Roy took care of one of them with a pink badminton racquet (the whole time he was saying, "Tell me what you've been doing Busy Little Bee or I shall strike down those dearest to you" ... just kidding, I couldn't help myself with the Gladiator reference since Roy has been known to use the term Busy Little Bee on more than one occasion!).  Then he figured he could/should block the holes until we came up with a more permanent solution for making them dead (as Leighton puts it) or persuading the bees to move along and find a new home.  Being the very savvy home reno (NOT!) couple that we are, we didn't have all that much to choose from, but Roy used some bright orange tape he had brought home from the lab and covered the holes.  We thought the bees that were inside would get stuck in and the ones that were out would be annoyed they couldn't get in and would find somewhere else to go.

I am sure you have all guessed that's not how it happened though.

Those busy little bees are determined little suckers.

By the time I checked on Monday afternoon, they had eaten holes right through the tape and had created new holes adjacent to the locations we had blocked.  I was impressed by their determination and in awe of their precision and ability to get through the wood.  These holes are perfectly round.  Probably more perfect than anything the cheap drill I picked up at IKEA on the weekend will be able to create!

Now, I ask you - how exactly do bees do this and what kind of 'Everything's Bigger in Texas' mutant bees do we have on our hands here?!?!?