[Solarbeez]

I grew up in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area, but I hadn't ever purposely looked for bees until I returned for a funeral. I wanted to get some shots/videos of bees on desert flowers to show contrast to my usual Oregon greenery.
http://solarbeez.com/2014/03/26/my-search-for-honeybees-in-a-scottsdale-neighborhood/
It was only after listening to and observing the many bird calls that I finally spotted some honeybees. Some fence installers pointed out a ground hive of honeybees, something you wouldn't see on the moist Oregon Coast.

 

[Paul McCarty]

Those bees would probably be best left alone. Ground nesting typically shows a pretty heavy African influence. Very nice pictures, by the way.

 

[Solarbeez]

Well, I wasn't about to kick the cinder block off and I used the zoom lens to 'get close.'
Since it looks like you have bees in the desert area, do you have problems with AHB?

 

[Paul McCarty]

Most of our desert bees are influenced by them. There are several different strains though, and ours are a little different than the ones found in Arizona or California.

 

[ChasWG]

It was thought that the AHB colonies only stayed in the desert/warm environments of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California, but recently a single hive that over-wintered in the fields of Palisade, CO were genetically tested and found to be AHB and so the colony was destroyed. Thus proving that Mother Nature adapts and over-comes once again.
This past winter was especially harsh in Colorado. We had several weeks in a row of -20 degree weather throughout the state, including the Grand Junction/Palisade area. Palisade is on the Western slope of Colorado, but now we are all worried that if the AHBs got to that area, then its possible they could travel to the Denver area just as easily. And here we thought we were immune to the Africanized threat being this far North.
Adapt and over-come is natures way.

Here's the story that ran in the Denver Post:

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25754005/africanized-bees-reach-colorado-
turn-up-palisade-orchard#disqus_thread

 

[Barry Digman]

It seems logical that they could easily move right up the Colorado river from southern Utah. I'm on the San Juan, so I suspect we either have them or soon will.

 

[Paul McCarty]

They carry the entire genome in them so they can easily adapt, and become largely un-noticed amongst the other ferals.

 

[Michael Bush]

Bees in the Sonora desert were nesting in rocks and in the ground long before anyone heard of Africanized bees...

 

[Riverderwent]

I enjoyed the pictures and, particularly, the video. Thank you for posting them.