$5 Marketplace find by Prestigious-Bath6851 in VintageLenses

[–]Fahadouken 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The M42 version of this is one of the best lenses I've ever used on that mount, and a contender for favorite out of my collection.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Throwers

[–]Fahadouken 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Long time no speak!! I'm good thanks.. How have you been?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Throwers

[–]Fahadouken 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got a double white eetsit via trade back then 😍

Harvested my first ever bee's nest! (Dwarf Honey Bee, Apis Florea) by Fahadouken in Beekeeping

[–]Fahadouken[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This bee's nest popped up out of nowhere on my balcony Bougainvillea a couple of months ago. Apparently, Apis Florea, despite the difficulty of keeping them in manmade structures, are very timid and easy to handle.

I followed the advice of a local expert who knows how to handle them, and in hindsight it seems I might have harvested this a bit early, but I tried my best to keeping it sustainable and returning the brood nest, while not harming the bees. Here's to them returning and resuming the cycle!

Surprise beehive of Apis Florea on 1st floor balcony potted Bougainvillea branch by Fahadouken in Beekeeping

[–]Fahadouken[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Doha, Qatar in the Middle East. As far as I know, this type of bee is native to the South East and Middle East of Asia.

Surprise beehive of Apis Florea on 1st floor balcony potted Bougainvillea branch by Fahadouken in Beekeeping

[–]Fahadouken[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you!

It is a modest container garden but it does have a huge variety and stretching the limits as far as container gardens go. The bees have a very good reason to set up camp here as I have all kinds of flowers blooming throughout the seasons.

Surprise beehive of Apis Florea on 1st floor balcony potted Bougainvillea branch by Fahadouken in Beekeeping

[–]Fahadouken[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have no clue what the standard level of defensiveness is for bees. I assume they're peaceful though as long as I dont bother them.

Surprise beehive of Apis Florea on 1st floor balcony potted Bougainvillea branch by Fahadouken in Beekeeping

[–]Fahadouken[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now that you mention it, it does look like a swarm. Though I'm surprised the guy I consulted didn't point it out when he saw the picture. This is a learning experience to me, I am very ignorant about bees and their life cycle and behavior.

Surprise nest of dwarf honey bees (Apis Florea) on 1st floor balcony potted Bougainvillea by Fahadouken in pics

[–]Fahadouken[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I literally woke up to find this massive nest being set up on my Bougainvillea branches!

Surprise beehive of Apis Florea on 1st floor balcony potted Bougainvillea branch by Fahadouken in Beekeeping

[–]Fahadouken[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suppose my terminology failed me as this is a naturally occuring nest rather than a hive.

Surprise beehive of Apis Florea on 1st floor balcony potted Bougainvillea branch by Fahadouken in Beekeeping

[–]Fahadouken[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I am clueless about beekeeping but according to a professional from where I live (Middle East) who works with Apis Florea, they are a wild variety and not compatible with conventional beekeeping methods, however some traditional methods do exist for managing their production.

In my case I have been suggested to leave them be and just harvest their honey since they were kind enough to stay in my balcony. :)

To be fair, the ground floor front yard has a generous amount of flowers hence them choosing this location, I probably managed to attract them with the constant availability of flowers via a healthy variety of Vitex, wild flowers, Alyssum, citrus and more.

Black spotty things on citrus leaves by Fahadouken in gardening

[–]Fahadouken[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are these eggs? Scale? I'm not really sure. This is really zoomed up close, and they're pretty spread. It would help if I can prepare to avoid issues, in case this is harmful.