Beekeeping

[CloverKnollFarms]

I just got a call from my church. There is a hive that has made its home in a hollow tree in the playground area. I've got to go check it out. The goal is to save the bees and the tree.

That is a tall order. I got a call today for another cutout. Still need to see the details on it. We have added 6 colonies this year, maybe 7 now.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I just got a call from my church. There is a hive that has made its home in a hollow tree in the playground area. I've got to go check it out. The goal is to save the bees and the tree.

Are you going to attempt a trap out?

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Yes. It's a gigantic old oak. Based on the activity I saw I think it's a big established hive inside the tree. Although it was just noticed this week, so maybe it's not got a lot of comb in it yet? There is every possibility that it has been there all spring also.

I think I'm going to assemble a single or double deep and give it a light spray of swarm commander. I'll set it up a few feet away and smoke them for a while to see what happens. I read about making a "1 way valve" out of wire screen and tunneling them to the new hive with it. But if I can slowly increase smoke until they think they are actually on fire I hope I can get the queen to walk out. The opening is 2 very narrow slits that are each 6-10" tall. I'm hoping I can smoke low on the bottom one and they can exit out of the top one.

Whether we are successful or not I think maybe spray foam is the best bet to seal the hole up?

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I went and looked at it at lunch. My wife and I will start on it later today.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Once the bees are out, an expanding foam would be best. Sounds like an adventure trying to get the queen to leave and the bees to abandon their young.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Yeah I'm hoping I can get the queen. But the tree is the priority.

 

[Torvy]

Wife checked the hive yesterday. Not enough production to get honey in July. May try in October. Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Wife checked the hive yesterday. Not enough production to get honey in July. May try in October. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Beekeeping 101, you don't really get honey the first year. The bees will need it for the dearth. Not much flow between now and winter.

New colonies start at a real disadvantage, and need time to build up. Next year will be much different

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Found this little girl wandering around outside Costco today

 

[BackRoad]

Wait...just cause it's Costco, doesn't mean it's a girl!

And how do you know it's a Queen for sure?

 

[ponytug]

Wait...just cause it's Costco, doesn't mean it's a girl!

And how do you know it's a Queen for sure?

Honey and pollen gathering honeybees are female. Drones don't gather resources for the hive, so if you find a random honeybee, the odds are very high that it is female. Sick and dying honeybees do leave the hive, so both sexes are possible.

The odds of finding a queen by herself are infinitesimal...

All the best,

Peter

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Wait...just cause it's Costco, doesn't mean it's a girl!

And how do you know it's a Queen for sure?

All bees are female, except for drones.

Drones look nothing like workers, and queens look like neither.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Well, the first evening was a bust. I put a single deep hive together and attached it to the tree with the entrance about the same height as where the bulk of the bees were coming and going from the opening in the tree. I loaded it up with partially drawn frames and a couple squirts of swarm commander. Then I smoked them for the better part of 2 hours. A decent amount of bees came out and checked out the hive, but it was not enough to entice them out of the tree.

This morning on the way to work I took some strips of stencil paper, soaked them in Honey B Gone and slid them in the opening. Then I soaked a napkin in it and forced it in the opening. I only had 20 min or so to be able to mess with them. That didn't really look like it was driving them out at all. After work today I'm going to soak a rag in Honey B Gone, put it in the smoker and puff the fumes into the opening.

I think it's a really large void in the tree. I'm afraid they are just going to go higher inside the tree instead of coming out. The opening in the tree is maybe 1/2" wide and maybe 2 spots 6-8" tall. There is no way to get to them. They just have to want to come out and I'm not real sure I can make them want to.

 

[ponytug]

@LittleBittyBigJohn This is definitely arm chair quarterbacking from miles away, but if the tree has a void as large as you are describing, I would have concerns about the health and longevity of the tree and the safety of people around the tree. Those look like picnic tables in the background...

All the best,

Peter

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

That seems like a difficult task. True, no idea how large that cavity is. The last tree extraction we did, the comb extended about 8' above the opening. Even a trap out is very unlikely to work, and they take a very long time if they do. Good luck, keep us posted.

Also, if the bees think the tree is on fire, would they go to a place literally attached to the tree that is on fire?

 

[EddieWalker]

Can you stick a wire into the cavity to get an idea of it's size?

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Also, if the bees think the tree is on fire, would they go to a place literally attached to the tree that is on fire?

I was standing at the ready with a queen clip. My plan was to clip her, put her in the hive-still in the clip, quit smoking and leave her and the hive for a day or two to get as many stragglers as I could.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Can you stick a wire into the cavity to get an idea of it's size?

I know it's pretty big diameter and I assume it's pretty tall also.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

They may need to live with the bees, or choose to sacrifice the tree... Pretty binary

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Have you ever done this sort of thing with success? Or is this the first attempt?