AIBU to be a little worried about this?

[WiggyClawsThe2nd]

We have had bees living in our roof space for years. It's never really bothered us, you get used to the low hum.
9 days ago I woke up to a really loud buzzing and when I looked outside the air was black with bees. They had settled down by the next day and formed a huge ball on the side of the house.
The thing is, they're STILL there today. There are bees flying around and walking over the ball, but the bees forming the ball don't seem to be moving.
Will they go? Do I need to call a bee person in?
AIBU to be a little worried about this?!

Here's a picture.

Yes, they have swarmed. Are they honey bees? Or another variety?

Speak to a beekeeper if you can -
https://www.bbka.org.uk/find-a-local-swarm-collector?srsltid=AfmBOopWGNdTnzs7m1yIGhoV-Kqmcvclk6n-mfbeW2rWpT-f4P2rUwqI

What ChatGPT said

This sounds very much like a honey bee swarm rather than aggressive infestation behavior. A swarm happens when part of an established colony — usually with the old queen — leaves to find a new home. The “huge ball” is typically thousands of bees clustering around the queen while scout bees search for a suitable nesting site.
Normally, swarms move on within a few hours to a few days. A swarm remaining in one place for 9 days is unusual enough that I would advise contacting a local beekeeper or bee rescue service.
A few possibilities:

• The queen may be injured or unable to fly, so the swarm cannot relocate.
• They may already be trying to move into another cavity in the house.
• The cluster may have become established rather than temporary.
• Weather can delay movement, but over a week is longer than typical.

The good news is:

• Swarming honey bees are usually at their least aggressive stage because they are focused on protecting the queen, not defending honey stores.
• If they’ve tolerated coexistence in your roof for years, they are likely honey bees rather than wasps.

However, I would be mildly concerned for practical reasons:

• If they settle permanently inside walls or roof voids, the colony can grow very large.
• Honeycomb and stored honey can eventually cause structural or pest issues.
• If the colony later dies, leftover honey/wax can attract rodents, moths, or other insects.

So my advice would be:

1. Keep pets and children away from the cluster.
2. Do not spray them or disturb the ball.
3. Contact a local beekeeper association or bee removal specialist soon.
4. Mention that:

• there is an established roof colony,
• a swarm emerged 9 days ago,
• the swarm cluster has not dispersed.

In the UK, many local beekeepers will collect swarms for free or a small fee because they can rehome them. The British Beekeepers Association has local swarm collector contacts via their swarm collection page. So no, you are not “being unreasonable” to feel uneasy. A large stationary swarm on the side of the house for over a week is not typical, and it’s sensible to get an expert to assess it.

@aurpod1980

Appreciate that you have probably cross-posted, but an actual human managed to provide that link as the first response, so you didn't need to waste the earth's precious resources by asking ChatGPT "for OP".

Thank you so much for this link, I've found a beeman who ironically lives almost next door and he's popping over tomorrow to have a look 💐

ChatGPT uses approximately 10x a typical Google search or the equivalent running an LED light bulb for 2 minutes (according to Google), no need to be so condescending to a user. Ill tell you what, ill switch off my downstairs lights 2 minutes earlier tonight so you can rest easy.

Not my first rodeo! 😁

That bee keeper will be so excited! They love stuff like this! 😄Cool photo, btw.

Nine days is unusual, scouts normally vote on a new home within a couple of days. If they've stayed put it's often the queen, either hurt or grounded, or the colony has started building comb where it sits. Your local beekeeper will know in seconds. Lovely that one lives next door.

Bees have their society really figured out, don't they? So fascinating!

Can you keep us updated when your bee keeper has BEEn please? I am interested in what happens next.

Actually, there’s every need to be “condescending”. A Google search returns the same results.

ChatGPT is an enormous waste of resources and is contributing to making society more stupid by the day.

Its a waste of everybody’s time and this isn’t what a forum is about.

Maybe as well as switching your lights off, you should turn your phone off too.

So the beeman says that they are likely settled in for the summer and there is probably a comb in progress. Lots of little white waxy flakes on the ground below. They won't survive the autumn unless a box is put around them to protect them. I'm thinking that I'd like to try and save them. He's happy to lend the equipment. Lovely chap.

Oh such a good response, to know youre getting so irate at strangers on the Internet.

You need to go take a walk or something before you have a stroke.

Just know you've really made a difference today.

"educate yourself"

ah the last resort when an argument has no substance.

Im aware AI uses energy, So does Google searches, streaming, gaming PCs, crypto, cloud hosting companies such as AWS, and half the internet people happily use all day, every day.

What I objected to was you being condescending to another poster for trying to help.

You can dislike AI without talking down to people. Or can you?

Thanks for updating, I am so glad you want to help them survive the autumn and I am a little jealous you get to see such an amazing thing.

I wonder why they have decided to settle where they have!