There was a recent requesting help to remove a feral colony that is 25-30 feet up on a Mango tree branch. At this point in time recovery is beyond me. However, what's surprising to me about this colony is that they have built their entire hive fully exposed to the elements. I have not seen this before and am curious how common/rare this is. It seems to defy expectation as it exposes them to predators and weather--and it rains a lot here on Oahu, so I'm puzzled they did this. I'm imagining that this started out as a swarm originally, the for some reason they decided/were put in a position to stay. Perhaps weather forced a planned swarm to stay inside and not be able to scout new locations and then the threat of an emerging queen forced them to depart without a choice? Thoughts, opinions and comments on this are welcome. This photo is not mine--it is from the original post of the homeowner; I am providing it under the fair-use copyright allowance for education and commentary.