I have some new neighbors…

     
I’m not sure what to do about them yet.  I don’t want to kill them and I can’t afford to have them removed.  I would love to keep them if I could get the queen out of the tree and transfer the hive to a bee box. I would need to get some equipment = boxes and frames for them to build the honeycomb onto, a smoker, and a bee suit and hat with protective netting to start. 

I’ve always wanted to keep bees as a hobby and have been following the Backwards Beekeepers in California for a couple of years; they have a lot of useful info on their site.  Texas A&M has a good site too for general bee information. I’m not sure I’m ready for this kind of commitment, but they sure are cute and I can’t quit thinking of all the yummy honey hiding in my tree!