Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: 10framer on November 04, 2013, 09:00:53 am

Title: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: 10framer on November 04, 2013, 09:00:53 am
does anybody know whose bees were on the semi that blew a tire and turned over in forsythe, georgia?
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: OldMech on November 04, 2013, 11:00:59 pm
Ohhhh lord.. I bet that was a mess..........
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: AllenF on November 04, 2013, 11:12:53 pm
http://www.macon.com/2013/11/03/2753938/bees-swarm-in-forsyth-after-accident.html (http://www.macon.com/2013/11/03/2753938/bees-swarm-in-forsyth-after-accident.html)   
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: OldMech on November 05, 2013, 12:17:05 am
Uhyup!!!  Definitely a mess.. kind of looks like what the pollinators leave behind in the blueberry fields when they pack up and leave.. I dont envy anyone trying to sort out that mess.
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: GSF on November 05, 2013, 07:38:23 am
10framer, I have some swarm traps. We'll split the bounty..

That's a sad sight.
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: 10framer on November 05, 2013, 09:31:17 am
it's amazing to see those guys in full suits.  those bees would be so disoriented that just about the only stings would be from mashing them.  instead you see beekeepers in full hazmat suits with a caption that says they are suited up for war with the bees.  still don't know who the bees belonged to. 
thanks for the link allen. 
gary, i don't like our odds of getting them through the winter at this point.
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: bernsad on November 06, 2013, 06:38:38 pm
Really, the bees aren't going to be defensive after being upended and dumped all over the place?

How would you go about organising hives again after that? I mean you've got millions of bees all lumped together, very little or no idea where the queens are, what do you do? Grab an intact box and some frames, scoop in a couple of lbs of bees and put a lid on it?
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: BeeMaster2 on November 06, 2013, 09:55:49 pm
I'm surprised that the fire department didn't come in and foam the whole area down. Usually when this happens, everyone in the area is getting stung. I talked to my local fire chief about calling me if we have a bee tractor trailer accident and he in formed me that they would just foam them.
Was this site near the town or any housing areas. I suspect it may have been in an isolated area.
Jim
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: 10framer on November 06, 2013, 10:38:22 pm
Really, the bees aren't going to be defensive after being upended and dumped all over the place?

How would you go about organising hives again after that? I mean you've got millions of bees all lumped together, very little or no idea where the queens are, what do you do? Grab an intact box and some frames, scoop in a couple of lbs of bees and put a lid on it?
i don't think there is any organizing hives at that point.  you put together what you can what makes it makes it.  bees reach a point of being so disoriented that they act like they do when they swarm.
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: 10framer on November 06, 2013, 10:40:14 pm
I'm surprised that the fire department didn't come in and foam the whole area down. Usually when this happens, everyone in the area is getting stung. I talked to my local fire chief about calling me if we have a bee tractor trailer accident and he in formed me that they would just foam them.
Was this site near the town or any housing areas. I suspect it may have been in an isolated area.
Jim

the news story did say that they were hosing the bees to keep them under control.  the general public doesn't know much about bees.
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: bernsad on November 06, 2013, 11:11:11 pm
i don't think there is any organizing hives at that point.  you put together what you can what makes it makes it.  bees reach a point of being so disoriented that they act like they do when they swarm.

Yeah, I kind of figured the part about acting like a swarm but you don't catch swarms that big, so I was wondering how you'd divvy them up.
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: JPinMO on November 07, 2013, 02:56:11 pm
oh, that's just heart-wrenching. poor girls.   :'(
Title: Re: semi overturned in georgia
Post by: OldMech on November 08, 2013, 12:22:59 am
i don't think there is any organizing hives at that point.  you put together what you can what makes it makes it.  bees reach a point of being so disoriented that they act like they do when they swarm.

Yeah, I kind of figured the part about acting like a swarm but you don't catch swarms that big, so I was wondering how you'd divvy them up.

  I had to think about that one.. but... yeah...  set up boxes, (salvage the ones that werent broken) dump bees in, put the lid on...(Smack the snot out of anyone trying to hose them) Haul them to a yard somewhere, preferably away from your bees and any people..   FEED like a madman while queens were incoming from everywhere you could find them.. by the time you got queens youd know if any of the boxes HAD a queen.. You know how many queens are incoming, so you split the frames of eggs/larvae you can spare into some of the boxes... requeen those you could with commercial queens, and combine all the rest.  man what  mess that would be to figure out.