Beekeeping

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

First attempt. I'll seal up the crack with a can of foam when I am sure either way if it's a fail or success.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Wait, are you going to seal it up, even if they choose to stay in the tree?

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Wait, are you going to seal it up, even if they choose to stay in the tree?

Correct. The tree is in the playground at church. It's an active area for kids and adults. I would hate to have to destroy the bees but they can't be allowed to remain in that location, and cutting down the tree is not an option either.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

That's too bad.

 

[ponytug]

Correct. The tree is in the playground at church. It's an active area for kids and adults. I would hate to have to destroy the bees but they can't be allowed to remain in that location, and cutting down the tree is not an option either.

I'm sorry about the bees possibly not surviving, but hopefully they can be enticed to leave.

Still, I think that you, or the church, might want to consider looking around for an arborist that does radar scans of tree trunks to assess the viability of the tree, and thus whether it is viable to leave the tree as is, do some top thinning, or whether removal of the tree is called for.

To me, "large void" and strong/viable are not mutually compatible.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Bees probably extend the life of a hollowed tree a bit, by controlling temperature and humidity in the open cavity, as well as keeping other pests from infiltrating the tree. Once that colony is dead, everything and everything that eats sugar will fill that cavity. This is the main reason most exterminators won't kill a colony, the mess that is left is a bigger issue than the bees were, and they will not clean that up.
I just couldn't do it. If the church wanted to seal it up, Id leave that to them, I don't want any part of that operation. It's more humane to use a pesticide than to let them starve to death over a period of weeks, slowly.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Let's talk thermal cameras. It seems the more cutouts we do, the more we do. I'm pretty good at guessing what the bees are doing and where they are, but I'm not perfect. It takes more time and energy than necessary to plan a cutout in a hidden cavity.
So, I'm getting a thermal camera. So, any of you own one, use one, have thoughts on them?
This will make the process of evaluating a cutout a lot easier, cleaner and more professional. People trust us with their property, and I want to show the utmost care for it.

Thanks!

 

[ponytug]

FLIR is a great one to start with. A number of my friends have the FLIR One. Going up in performance and resolution gets costly very quickly for a variety of reasons.

FLIR ONE Gen 3 Professional Thermal Camera for iOS and Android Smart Phones | Teledyne FLIR

The FLIR ONE Gen 3 is an affordable smartphone attachment thermal imaging camera designed to help professionals find problems faster and get more work done in less time. With MSX® (Multi-Spectral Dynamic Imaging) technology, which enhances thermal images by embossing details from the visual...

www.flir.com

All the best,

Peter

 

[BoFuller]

I got the FLIR that attaches to my iPhone. I got it to show areas where heat was leaking out of the house. I also use it to see the water level in my 2500 gal tanks. I think it works well for an inexpensive unit.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

The forced abscond did not work. Tried it for 2 days and then changed tactics. I switched to trap out Friday evening. I built a board with a hole, made a cone out of aluminum window screen and I probably need to get some fine hardware cloth to have around for next time because the screen material was a little too flimsy. I made a gasket of sorts out of insulation that I had left over from the house build.

Today we got 2 frames of food and 2 frames of brood from our hives and put them in the bait hive hoping that would coax them into it. I also scooped up as many bees as I could get easily and put them in the bait hive.

I also suggested they get an arborist to check out the tree when we are done with the bees.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Just went and checked on them at lunch. They have moved into their new home. Towards the end of the week I'll do an inspection to see if there is a queen. I do not expect the queen to come out but it could be possible. Especially since they seem to have calmed down and there are literally none trying to get back into the tree.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

That is wild. I wonder if the brood and nurse bees helped? Most trap outs takes a month or more.

If there were eggs in the frames you provided they could make a queen if she is absent.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

It is crazy. The frames of brood I put in it had all stages. I did that on purpose so they would have the option to make a queen. I even got one with an empty queen cup for them. I thought I was going to have to get a new queen to help bait them in but they do not seem to care about the tree at all right now. I bet hand scooping a bunch of them into the new hive really helped out a lot.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

That is so amazing and such a blessing

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Got the new buckwheat crop in.

 

[ponytug]

Do you like your PackerMaxx?

All the best, Peter

 

[masseyrider]

Got the new buckwheat crop in.

View attachment 877178

I've checked all over and I can't find buckwheat seed anywhere.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Do you like your PackerMaxx?

All the best, Peter

Yessir

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I have to go check on my little VSH colony today to see if the queen is laying and refresh their syrup

 

[lsgreg]

Just went and checked on them at lunch. They have moved into their new home. Towards the end of the week I'll do an inspection to see if there is a queen. I do not expect the queen to come out but it could be possible. Especially since they seem to have calmed down and there are literally none trying to get back into the tree.

View attachment 876957

Wow, I thought you had a hopeless case there!

It would be unusual for the queen to leave the hive, but if you forced an abscond with the all the annoyances you did, she just might be in there! Good thinking with the brood frame.