Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

ocba - Re: [ocba] Downed bee tree in chapel hill

ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Marty Hanks <marty AT justbeenc.com>
  • To: vbateman AT aol.com, Orange County Bees <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: NaturalBeesinNC AT yahoogroups.com
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Downed bee tree in chapel hill
  • Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:47:21 -0400

Here is the update and picture i took today.
 
NO sign of the queen and most of the colony. I did find 2 frames partially covered w/ bees so i contacted Amy today and got that queen she had. I put her in and they went right to her. i put in some sugar syrup and closed it up.
 
so its 50/50 at this point.
 
here is a picture of two "slabs" of comb from this feral colony. by my eye its at least 3 years old by looking at all the comb (color & texture). The folks didn't even know they were beekeepers!! Sad the brood will die out. That is a regular sized trash bag they are laying on so its at least 24" tall.
 
ONE NOTE: This hive was low of food store! As a beekeeper i am sometimes troubled w/ guilt when i pull off "extra" honey only to experience 3 weeks of drought conditions (floral dearth). I have several weak(light) hives so i am feeding and trying pollen substitute for the first time this year. So its reassuring to me that after seeing a big colony like this (w/ brood and eggs) that they to were low on food store.... makes me feel a bit better about my reserved honey harvesting practices. Other note was that they were filled w/ SHB.
 
I'll post if they make it!
marty hanks
just bee

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 8:15 PM, <vbateman AT aol.com> wrote:
Wow. Just wow. Am trying to save one of my hives right now and this was inspiring. I am, of course, a newbee.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 25, 2012, at 1:18 PM, David Langham <davidlangham5 AT gmail.com> wrote:

I have successfully removed bees from a boat by making a cone that ended with a one way bee escape and attaching it to the boat in such a way that the bees could get back in the boat.  At the end of the bee escape, I setup a nuc with a frame of honey and a frame of eggs and uncapped brood with no bees in it.  2-3 days later, I went into the nuc and introduced a queen (in the cage).  After a little while, I had most of the bees from the boat (minus the queen) in the nuc with a released new queen.  I sealed up the boat and moved the nuc to my bee yard.  I still have my cone if someone wanted to come by the house tonight and borrow it to try it out.  The trick is that you must be able to seal the tree in such a way that the bees can't get back in.

David (919 943-0589)

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 11:27 AM, Marty Hanks <marty AT justbeenc.com> wrote:
Hi Todd and all,
 
i got the same call as i have a friend next to him. there is a nuc there trying to get them to go in but i think its a lost cause. even w/ lemongrass sprayd on open bomb not much interest. the feral colony had been there for at least 2 years. i'll send some pics of the comb i found...sad. several large sections of brood laying wet on the ground!
 
marty

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 9:08 AM, Todd Walker <mtwalker AT imageray.net> wrote:
I received a call this morning. Last night's storm took down a hollow tree. The owner said that there is a colony in one of the large branches. Apparently it is exposed and he would love for some one to come save the bees. 

If you are interested in the bees and can help, give him a call:
Scott Johnson 919-428-1101

Thanks,

Todd

_________________________________________
ocba mailing list | North Carolina Beekeeping| http://www.theocba.org/
Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/



--
Marty Hanks
Just Bee, Apiaries
 
 Home of the Orange County Honey Project.
"Created by Artisans....Bottled by Humans"


_________________________________________
ocba mailing list | North Carolina Beekeeping| http://www.theocba.org/
Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/

_________________________________________
ocba mailing list | North Carolina Beekeeping| http://www.theocba.org/
Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/



--
Marty Hanks
Just Bee, Apiaries
 
 Home of the Orange County Honey Project.
"Created by Artisans....Bottled by Humans"

Attachment: feral comb.JPG
Description: JPEG image




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page