Ah, the good old days...we'd be playing outside on a hot summer day, and then someone would happen upon a beehive, stir it up, and then we'd run screaming in all directions.

Kids.

PLEASE, PLEASE, WE NEED THE BEES

Worse yet, someone might actually go get a broom and try to knock it down and destroy it. We had no idea how important bees were to our survival, did we? Trust me, they have no interest in stinging us because they will die if they do. Also, we should have a great interest in making sure they stay around as long as they can to pollinate, pollinate, pollinate.

You've probably heard that if all the bees were to die, the human race wouldn't last much longer. What I learned from the Encyclopedia Britannica doesn't really bear that out, but it does say that if we want to keep enjoying and benefitting from fruits and vegetables, we have to protect the bees. Cereal grains are wind-pollinated and would not be threatened in this scenario, but I don't want to eat corn flakes for the rest of my life.

A REALLY OLD BEEHIVE...POSSIBLY

I like fruits, vegetables, AND honey. And I would imagine the honeycombs produced by this amazing creation would make any biscuit a thousand times better.

That is one OLD beehive. But I did notice a conversation thread within the comment section that discusses the validity of the claim made by the man who said the hive had been there his whole life.

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BEEHIVES CAN LAST A LONG TIME UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES

That led me to a representative from Green Valley Beekeepers Association who told me that while "80 years old" IS far-fetched, anything is possible as long as a beehive's housing remains intact--no sprays, no rotting, no destruction of any kind.

So it's POSSIBLE there could be a beehive that old, but I can go you one better. There was a beehive that was more than 125 years old that had to be removed from a home in Rutledge, Georgia--near Atlanta--and I'm assuming it happened earlier in this century since the home's owner said the hive had been there since her grandmother was a girl and that was back in the 1880s.

Southern Bee Removal was contacted for the job and documented the homeowner's story along with the process of removing the hive and those bees, which the company admits was difficult.

WHAT A MASSIVE BEEHIVE REMOVAL LOOKS LIKE

It amazes me how intricate these hives can become, and it's equally mind-blowing how professionals can remove and relocate such massive ones like this:

And when hives are embedded in walls and ceilings, it's stunning how much MONEY is in those walls. Yes, that's not a typo. Sure, it's a lot of honey, but we all know how expensive honey is.

Anyway, I certainly hope anyone who encounters hives like this monstrous one in Illinois will NOT take it upon themselves to take care of the situation. You'll do more harm than good. Professionals are a phone call or Facebook message away.

I wonder if they let any of these homeowners KEEP this honey.

See what I've done? Now I'm hungry for biscuits.

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