Honey Bees in Southern California This March!

I've been keeping track of honey bees because they've been suffering from a die-off (Colony Collapse Disorder). I was happy to see countless bees on this bush. Here are a few pictures. These are wild bees, not domesticated. The wild bees are slimmer, with a waist.

I looked into bee keeping once, and learned that domesticated bees come from the Italian, Carniolan, or Russian lines.


Italian honey bees are gentle, adaptable, and reproduce quickly. The Carniolan are gentle, resistant to pests, and need less stored honey. The Russian honey bees are gentle, resistant to mites and hardy during winter.

Because beekeeping is encouraged where I live, there are domesticated bees as well as wild bees flying about. I am not afraid of them and can almost hold them. The honey bees do not mind me at all.  Apparently they can sense fear; and I suppose they can also sense when someone likes them.

Read also

How Are Honey Bees Doing this 2015?
What Kind of Bees Are These? 
Honey Bees in my Chimney!
Bees in my Garden
Vanishing of the Bees
More on Bees
Bees in my Garden - Wild and Domesticated!

This is all for now,
Cecilia