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Author Topic: Trying to find a feral collony.  (Read 5590 times)

Offline JordanM

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Trying to find a feral collony.
« on: May 24, 2008, 05:20:42 pm »
Today i spent 3 hours coming the woods looking for a sign of bees but i didnt see 1 bee on a flower until i went to this place where there were 3 trees fell down and there were 5 bees at all times on these dandelions that were in about a 10'by 30' area. I must have saw a couple thousand dandelions all over the place and on the other side of the woods but they were only in this spot. So i watched one and she went to a few flowers and then flew across the road to the neighbors and i watched and another one went that way to. I tryed to put sugar water out but nothing would come to it, i even added lemongrass oil to it stil nothing.

So do you think that the colony of bees is across the road.   Next time i go up i think i will walk over there and take a peek and see if i ca find anything.

Offline doak

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2008, 05:29:35 pm »
Try to watch the bees when the leave, direction, direction.
follow, follow.
Look for large trees with signs of being hollow, stains on the tree sides.
Scout, scout, scout.
that'l doit.
doak

Offline JordanM

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2008, 05:57:20 pm »
I am going back up right now and will try to find somemore signs. I might try to put lime on the bees that are on the flowers to make them go to there hives and see which way they go faster. I will tell you what i find tonight since its getting late.

Offline HAB

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2008, 06:18:01 pm »
Try Beelining.  Bait up a few Bees with Sugar Syrup or Honey on a plate.  Give them a couple an hour to find it.  Observe which direction most are flying, move that direction about 100 yards, repeat.  You should be able to get in the general area by the third move or so.  :)

Offline JP

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2008, 07:58:21 pm »
If you're in a flow, these bees prob won't be interested in sugar water, try a little honey, preferably fresh, raw. I think they're across the road.


...JP
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Offline HAB

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2008, 08:22:20 pm »
If you're in a flow, these bees prob won't be interested in sugar water, try a little honey, preferably fresh, raw. I think they're across the road.


...JP

"Across the Road" has been the story for most of my life. 
Yeah, honey is best.  But here feral bees are giving me fits with two small nucs.  Have had to reduce the nuc entrance to two bee size to keep them from over powering the guard bees for the sugar water.

Offline JordanM

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2008, 08:28:59 pm »
I just got back and i saw 2 more bees and through a handful of Lime on them. The first one spiraled up and went over the road the 2nd one i was already accross the road but she flem back further. I kept walking and looking back further and about 100 ft ffrom where i powdered the last bee there is a field of mustard plants and i guess honey bees dont like mustard because there is none on them. And past the field there is another woods.

Tommorow i will try some Honey.

Any more suggestions that i should try?

Offline JP

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2008, 09:12:15 pm »
Honeybees do like mustard.

I have some honeycombs on a top cover atop some empty mediums right now, since this morning, honey has leaked out all over the cover. I have 7 hives near it and they're not interested in it. Amazing, isn't it.

They've got other things on their minds, like fresh nectar and pollen. I did put some on the speaker box bees and they are lapping it up, but the other bees are just ignoring it. The honey is light in color and mild. Very delicious BTW.


...JP
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Offline JordanM

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2008, 05:50:30 pm »
Today i went out and put a comb of honey that fell off of one of my frames yeasturday and some liquid honey around it in a circle and leaft for half the day and not one bee touched. They were buzzing all around and going to each dandelion but didnt even touch the plate.

So i got the lime out and started dusting them, i dusted probly 50 bees and they just flew to the nearest tree down wind.

Any help!!!!!

Offline JP

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #9 on: May 25, 2008, 05:59:59 pm »
Get some help. Dust the bees and have another person where you think the bees are going standby. Perhaps between the two of you, you can make some sense. Also binoculars might help.


...JP
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Offline JordanM

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2008, 06:46:03 pm »
I am so frustrated right now. I never got a group of bees together anywhere i had to dust each one on each flower and they only flew to the nearest tree..

Does someone know someone by me that knows what there doing give me a hand in locating them.

Offline buzzbee

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #11 on: May 26, 2008, 09:13:20 am »
Maybe dusting with something besides Lime?

Offline JP

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #12 on: May 26, 2008, 09:22:53 am »
Maybe dusting with something besides Lime?


Yeah, I never heard of using lime, that actually might hurt them but I'm not certain. Can try flower. Try the binoculars also.


...JP
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Online Jim134

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #13 on: May 26, 2008, 10:24:05 am »
     I head of puting lime on bees in the 60s I have used flower or powdered 10x sugar


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Offline JordanM

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #14 on: May 26, 2008, 10:36:45 am »
Today i am going to try and find a bait and use it on my own hives to see if it works, but yesturday my own bees were all over the piece of comb. I am going to set it on my deck and powder them with flour amd then see if i can see my own bees go back to the hive to get a  better understanding of the idea and then i migyht try finding a colony by my own house.

Right now i am about ready to go down the road to my neighbors that have 40 hives and pull some brood and put it in my hive along with some workers and nurse bees shook in and bring it back to my house and let them raise a new queen, but i dont think they would like that.( My neighbors i mean) :evil:

Offline JP

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #15 on: May 26, 2008, 10:46:43 am »
Have you met these people? I bet they wouldn't mind as much as you think, most beeks are a friendly type. ;)


...JP
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Offline JordanM

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #16 on: May 26, 2008, 11:27:14 am »
I have not met the people but i do not know how to get ahold of them. I just went back and grabbed the honey comb off the top of my beehive and there was about 30 bees on it so i brushed them off and moved it up to our deck and put a circle of more honey around it, are deck is about 250' from the beehive i will wait till my bees find it and when there is a group of them i will dust them with flour and see if they go back top my beehive and if they do i will go down the road and put the comb out there and see if i can get some other bees from a different colony coming to it.

Offline MustbeeNuts

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #17 on: May 26, 2008, 11:33:47 am »
In some places that might be akin to stealing?? I wouldnt  reccomended it, my freind. Asking first is always a good idea.
Each new day brings decisions,  these are  new branches on the tree of life.

Offline JP

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #18 on: May 26, 2008, 12:20:34 pm »
Have you met these people? I bet they wouldn't mind as much as you think, most beeks are a friendly type. ;)


...JP

Let me clarify my above statement. What I meant to say is if you haven't met them, first locate them, then introduce yourself. Somewhere down the road after your relationship builds, they MAY permit you a brood frame or two, you never know, but beeks are generally pretty friendly people.


...JP
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Offline JordanM

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Re: Trying to find a feral collony.
« Reply #19 on: May 26, 2008, 08:03:22 pm »
I looked in the plot book to see who owns the land and turns out they are the people that we buy beats from every year for the deer, i will try to get ahold of them this week.

Anyways where i put the comb and honey on are deck no bees came so i moved it closer probly 150 ft' from the hives and still no bees, so i wonder if you have to have the honey right under there nose for them to go for it, or maybe where just in a nectar flow right now and they found somthing better than there own honey.