"It looks like it is the season for swarming," says reader and Chippewa Township resident Steven Lowrance. He passed along these photos after a similar swarm blocked the entrance to the Blue Gator tavern in downtown Mt. Pleasant.

"We had this swarm show up last Tuesday evening," he told us. "They stuck around until sometime in the afternoon on Thursday ... Anyway, we contacted the folks at the Michigan Beekeepers Association, and they were going to send out someone to pick up the swarm but (the bees) were gone before (the beekeeper) could get to us."

Lowrance said that many beekeepers are happy to pick up swarms because the beekeepers get to keep the bees, which are running about $70 for three pounds with a mated queen. That's about what it takes to start a new hive.

"The last pic is with 'Flat Stanley,'" Lowrance said. "My niece sent us Stanley to spend a summer vacation with us. We take pictures of him all over, and she'll get him back this fall for a report at school."

That's a big swarm in a little tree.