Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => HONEYBEE REMOVAL => Topic started by: Bill W. on September 11, 2008, 03:04:12 am
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Removing bees from a tree cavity is a lot harder than removing them from a wall. But, I got some nice bees and got to take a scenic drive down miles of logging roads after I got lost on my way home. ;)
Pics and blathering (http://beesbythesea.com/Bees_by_the_Sea_Apiary/News/Entries/2008/9/10_Hoquiam_Log_Removal.html)
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I can see how that would be a lot harder... how do you know where to cut the log without sawing through the middle of the hive?
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Hey Bill, you can probably get by without a generator by using an inverter hooked up to your truck battery, this is what I do.
Just start the truck now and again so you don't drain the battery down.
Sarge, trees are tough jobs sometimes you really don't know how large the nest is but driliing into the tree gives you an idea before you make your cuts.
Be careful with your chain saw as cutting into honey comb is almost as bad as the blades hitting the ground, dulls a chain real quick, good to have sharpener with you or extra chain saw, trust me, been there.
Sort of like this: http://www.boatandrvaccessories.com/PI750AB.htm
...JP
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Thanks for sharing this Bill! :)
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Bill,
That was just great. Thank you so much. That group of pics will be great to show some of the school groups. If you don't mind. Shows great stuff. What a change of pace.
Great documentation.
F
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Bill, wonderful! How nice for the loggers to call for someone instead of letting them die! Lucky for you the equipment was there to manipulate, saving your back & possibly other injury, also helping things go quickly, good for both humans & bees! Thanks for posting! Jody
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I can see how that would be a lot harder... how do you know where to cut the log without sawing through the middle of the hive?
Well, it was really a guess. I listened to the log to see where I could hear bees, but the log was pretty thick, so that was not certain. I also listened at the ends of the log, where I could hear bee activity at one end, but not the other. I looked at the crack and tried to figure out where the void was likely to be widest. I thought of drilling, but I would have needed an 18" long bit. So, I went with my gut and it turned out to be right this time.
Hey Bill, you can probably get by without a generator by using an inverter hooked up to your truck battery, this is what I do.
Thanks, JP. Now on my purchase list.
That group of pics will be great to show some of the school groups. If you don't mind.
Sure thing. There are full-sized versions in the Photos section, under Removals 2008.
How nice for the loggers to call for someone instead of letting them die!
They were hoping for honey, which I was happy to share with them, but unfortunately, while I got a lot, it is full of dead bees, brood, and rotted wood. I'm not sure I'm going to have much for them. I may have to give them some of my private stock so that they remember to call me again next time. ;)
Lucky for you the equipment was there to manipulate, saving your back & possibly other injury, also helping things go quickly, good for both humans & bees!
I really don't think I would have attempted it if they wouldn't have done the cutting. I have only used a small chainsaw for small jobs around my property. A three foot diameter log is a whole different experience. 50,000 angry bees don't scare me, but 36" chain saws do. ;)
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Look at second handshops etc for an old sethescope, they work wonders for finding bees in walls and trees.
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Thanks JP, for reminding me to get an inverter. When the call came to pick up the stragglers from this job, the vacuum made a huge difference.
Link with new pics (http://beesbythesea.com/Bees_by_the_Sea_Apiary/News/Entries/2008/9/16_Hoquiam_Log_Cleanup.html)
I got a whopping five pounds of stragglers! (Which is more than the ~4lb of bees I took with the cut-out.) They had started to build a new hive on the bottom of another log.
Although I got the queen during the cut-out, there is a bee in this bunch that looks an awful lot like a small queen to me. I haven't been able to get a pic yet, but I hope to get one so I can get some second opinions later. I'm wondering if they had a virgin in the hive. Would they have bothered to start building a new hive if they didn't have a queen?
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No problem Bill.
The bee in question, was in the new bunch?
...JP
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Yes - she was in today's bunch. I got a nice fat, black queen in the original cut-out. The bees I picked up today have a bee that has the general queen shape, only slightly larger than the other workers, pure orange - no stripes. I'm pretty sure it is a queen, based on shape, but I've never seen one so small.