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Author Topic: Swarm in brick (hole entrance) @ chimney base  (Read 8985 times)

Offline JP

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Re: Swarm in brick (hole entrance) @ chimney base
« Reply #20 on: May 06, 2009, 11:43:51 am »
So you stuffed the cotton ball in the hole after they moved into the box? This is what I'm reading into it. If so, and they moved in on their own, you were very fortunate it went down like this. Usually there is a tussle.


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Offline Dane Bramage

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Re: Swarm in brick (hole entrance) @ chimney base
« Reply #21 on: May 06, 2009, 12:00:18 pm »
So you stuffed the cotton ball in the hole after they moved into the box? This is what I'm reading into it. If so, and they moved in on their own, you were very fortunate it went down like this. Usually there is a tussle.

Yes - they had already moved into the box when I arrived.  The residents had e-mailed me with a report of them only coming & going from the box, not the chimney any longer, and that was ~ noon.  I'm guessing they moved fairly early in the day.  When I got there (~4pm) it was same situation... I observed all the activity coming and going from the box and none from the chimney (watched for about 10 minutes), popped the top and verified a "load" of them inside the box.  I dropped the fume bomb in the chimney after taping all but one hole just to be safe.  I wouldn't want them moving back in there but also didn't want to seal it up 100% in case there were a few stragglers.  One unusual (for me) observation ~> there were several (~30) bees laying scattered in the grass nearby.. some still crawling.  I'm guessing they got chilled in the move or something? 

Easy is gooooood!  :-D

Offline bailey

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Re: Swarm in brick (hole entrance) @ chimney base
« Reply #22 on: May 06, 2009, 10:42:59 pm »
you probably wont get that lucky again!
good job though.

they must not have had enough room to set up shop in the bricks.

did you use old brood comb in the bait hive or just lemon grass oil?

bailey
most often i find my greatest source of stress to be OPS  ( other peoples stupidity )

It is better to keep ones mouth shut and be thought of as a fool than to open ones mouth and in so doing remove all doubt.

Offline Dane Bramage

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Re: Swarm in brick (hole entrance) @ chimney base
« Reply #23 on: May 07, 2009, 12:20:29 am »
you probably wont get that lucky again!
good job though.

they must not have had enough room to set up shop in the bricks.

did you use old brood comb in the bait hive or just lemon grass oil?

bailey

I bet you're right Bailey!  Thx. :)  I'm sort of puzzled what it is about the brick chimney they didn't like myself.  It seemed the perfect hive but who knows what's inside there.  Maybe it is more exposed than it would seem as well.   No bees had set up there before (& the house is ~ 20 years old) and then there were the dozens of chilled ones outside. 

100% old brood comb (8 frames), one or two with some capped honey at the perimeter, all sprayed with some 1:1 syrup w/a drop of lemongrass oil diluted within.

I'll take lucky when I can get it.  :-D 

Onwards - occurred to me today that networking with arborists is likely a really good way to increase one's swarm calls.  I guess that's obvious.  I wasn't looking to do more but had one company at my place today getting an estimate for insurance claim together on a recently fell tree @ my apiary who got excited when he saw all the hives.  They encounter them fairly often and he's got one in a hollowed out elm (about 16' up) that they topped recently.  The property owner wants to try and save (as opposed to just kill) these ones prior to having the tree fully removed.   Sounds interesting.

Cheers,
Dane

Offline Cindi

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Re: Swarm in brick (hole entrance) @ chimney base
« Reply #24 on: May 07, 2009, 11:55:31 am »
Dane, fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun.  You are coming upon unexpected experiences and journeys, what a blast, good for you.  Have that wonderfully great and awesome day, health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

 

anything