Holly Trees

Question

Okay, so we have two holly trees next to our house. They’re taller than our two story house (I believe our peak height on the house is about 30ft). I am fairly positive they are American Holly trees. I know they are pretty much at the normal height for mature hollies, but I have no idea how old they are so I’m curious as to what the lifespan would be for holly trees of this size.

Next part I’m curious about is the absurd amount of bees, wasps, and yellow jackets. I can hear the buzzing from about 50 feet away from the trees. I didn’t see any blooms on the trees right now so I’m confused as to why they’re swarming the trees. Should I be looking for hives? We have a toddler that has never been stung so we don’t know if she’s allergic to bee/wasp/yellow jacket stings. She’s been trying to catch the flying insects any chance she gets, so if there is a nest, I absolutely have to get rid of it. How would I even go about removing a hive from the trees if there is one?

Behind these two trees are three extremely large purple rhododendrons. One is about 20 feet tall with a width of about 10 feet and a depth of about 5-10 feet (some of it hangs over our fence). The other two are extremely oddly shaped but are only around 15 feet tall. I noticed that the big giant black bees love, love, love the tallest rhododendron, but don’t really venture to the holly trees. The holly trees are mostly being swarmed by honey bees, wasps, and yellow jackets. I should add that the trunks of the holly trees are less than 7 feet apart. The rhododendrons directly behind them are much much further but all of the branches touch one another.

Answer 1

In the right growing conditions and a Holly that remains healthy, you can expect a long lifespan and specimens can live 100 years.

Hollies do bloom for a 2 to 3 week period and Bees are attracted to the small flowers.

If you are concerned about a possible hive or nest, I would certainly have a pest control expert come to make an inspection of the area of concern.

Here are some articles with more information.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/holly/common-types-of-holly.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/beneficial/honeybee-swarm-in-garden.htm