Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => HONEYBEE REMOVAL => Topic started by: blanc on March 16, 2013, 10:50:44 pm
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(http://s4.postimage.org/xpen8ekmh/Lennix_Open_Hive_002.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/xpen8ekmh/)
(http://s14.postimage.org/vfwop6y59/Lennix_Open_Hive_003.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/vfwop6y59/)
(http://s13.postimage.org/r7fc9obcj/Lennix_Open_Hive_005.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/r7fc9obcj/)
This started out with a call from Mrs Lennix wanting to give me some free bees. :mrgreen: Guess most removal folks heard this at least once. Stuck to my guns on my price to remove and got the job. She realized once I set up and finished the job she gladly paid me besides the tree guy not touching the tree till she removed them. Don't think the picture did justice to the size. It was a monster with multiple queen cells, plenty drones and drone cells and honey stores were almost gone. Never saw the queen and going to check in the AM to see if I can spot her.
Blanc
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Don't think the picture did justice to the size.
Looks huge in the pics to me. Glad you was able to get them.
James
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Cool open hive. How high off the ground were they?
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Looks huge in the pics to me. Glad you was able to get them.
James
Blanc,
I'm with James on this one....That thing looks huge!
Nice, Very Nice!
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Looks huge in the pics to me. Glad you was able to get them.
James
Blanc,
I'm with James on this one....That thing looks huge!
Nice, Very Nice!
I wound up putting them in two mediums Moot. Had some drawn comb already and put the syrup on em right away this morning and they drank half quart already. Filled one medium with brood and pollen combs but honey stores was very low. No capped honey at all and they were busy filling up some combs.
Blanc
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Dang cool, thanks for posting. Any swarm cells? The population seemed HUGE for this early.
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Dang cool, thanks for posting. Any swarm cells? The population seemed HUGE for this early.
Yes I found three queen cells D and they have drank two quarts of syrup in two days. Large numbers and if they don't obscond on me I will have a very productive hive.
Blanc
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Please tell me you kept the queen cells and gave them some bees to raise them.
Bailey
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Ditto on saving the queen cells...those survivor genetics, ooooh those genetics. Were the bees gentle? I've just did a couple of removals so far and haven't entered the $$$ arena yet. The survivor gentics are what I'm interested in right now...
Ed
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Ditto on saving the queen cells...those survivor genetics, ooooh those genetics. Were the bees gentle? I've just did a couple of removals so far and haven't entered the $$$ arena yet. The survivor gentics are what I'm interested in right now...
Ed
They were pretty gentle until I got to the center of them and stirred them up a bit Ed but the gentlest ones I've encountered so far.
Blanc
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Please tell me you kept the queen cells and gave them some bees to raise them.
Bailey
Yes I did Bailey and funny thing is the woman calls me today and said the bees are back so I went see what's up because I know they are not the same bees. Had a small cluster of about hundred bees I might have missed but looked real good before I left and saw none in the tree after removing the boxes. She is just gonna spray em with wasp spray tonight. Thought it might have been a swarm but not.
Blanc
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What a good lookin' colony! Almost a shame you had to take it down but good job. It's hard to tell from the pics but it looks like the comb might have been fairly straight? Most of the external ones I get look like the comb was drawn on a spirograph!
Scott
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What a good lookin' colony! Almost a shame you had to take it down but good job. It's hard to tell from the pics but it looks like the comb might have been fairly straight? Most of the external ones I get look like the comb was drawn on a spirograph!
Scott
Everything was pretty straight Scott and took me about two and a half hours to remove. One hour was just vacuuming the critters they had so many. They seem to be doing fine. Just trying to figure how long to feed them before considering them not distressed anymore. Been four days so far and would appreciate any advice.
Blanc
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The best advice I can pass on is to keep their space as tight as you can to give them the best chance you can at defending against SHB. Those things can take over a weakened/stressed colony quick as a wink.
Scott
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The best advice I can pass on is to keep their space as tight as you can to give them the best chance you can at defending against SHB. Those things can take over a weakened/stressed colony quick as a wink.
Scott
Can see them from my back door Scott! :-D Thanks for the advice!
Blanc
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Sounds like it will be a great colony, blanc. Even if you didn't get the queen, which I bet you did, it sounds like there was enough brood there that they had some larvae young enough to start some emergency queen cells. Sounds like some good gentle genetics worth saving...plus the survivor aspect. :th_thumbsupup:
Ed