Swarm Trap, Pedestal Cut Out, Swarm---June 12, 2009

[JP]

Thursday, I removed a swarm trap I had left on site a few months back.  I had removed two established colonies from a two story house at this location. The trap looked pretty rough and was hanging by two strings about ready to pop.

Yesterday evening I removed a colony from a pedestal for one of our phone companies. It was a somewhat remote location with no power nor water, Thank God for my 750 watt inverter and a neighbor approx two hundred yards away that lent me a bucket of water. The bees were chocked full up in this pedestal now! Good looking queen too.

So I leave there at around 9:35 pm and enroute check my messages and see I have a swarm call on a wooden fence, not too far from where I leave, perhaps 3-4 minutes down the road.

The swarm was between two fences and I instantly new from past experience this was going to be a pain! I smoked underneath and each side of the swarm to get them moving forward to one side of the fence, but let me tell you this was slow going!

So slow going that I pulled out the spray bottle of beequick to usher them some more. (Just a little dab of beequick will do y'all, don't overdo it and don't spray on bees, you'll regret it.)

The smoke is what inevitably got them moving to the box (along with scooping bees in).

These bees were stubborn to move but finally I caught a glimpse of a solid black queen moving rapidly towards the box and down and in. The rest followed shortly after that.

Got home close to midnight, again!

Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/pyxicephalus/June122009#


...JP

[G3farms]

That phone box looked like a real doosey of a mess, but if anybody can figure it out it will be you JP. That was a nice fat queen in there also, they should be glad for some more room to build in. I thought it was funny how your pictures went from sun light to dusk and finaly to the flash. Your a hard worker thats for sure and your love of the bees shows.

I would of liked to have seen that big ol' black queen on the fence job. Spray the bees with bee quick and you will be quick, I found that out the hard way too.

great job and great pics again.

G3

[cundald]

So slow going that I pulled out the spray bottle of beequick to usher them some more. (Just a little dab of beequick will do y'all, don't overdo it and don't spray on bees, you'll regret it.)

...JP

What happens if you get it on the bees?

cundald

[Rebel Rose Apiary]

I used to work for a company that serviced the phone pedestals. They gave you a large map and circled the peds that needed services...usually cutting weeds and brush away from them, opening them up, spraying a special chemical in there to coat the wires and was supposed to keep out mice, roaches, spiders and BEES! We had to set out safety cones, use flashers at all times on our own vehicles and wear hardhats, safety goggles and a BRIGHT COLORED safety vest  

In one area of New Mexico, every ped that I opened had bees in it! Much like what you had to deal with. It got so bad that I had to use my own jacket and veil on a day to day basis.....as those bees were a mess to remove (I feel for you here JP) and all of the bees had pissy attitudes.

One day the main supervisor was there when I was 'caught' removing a hive of bees from a ped. He walked over to where I was in that bright safety vest and the bees were all over him...another reason that I used my bee jacket and veil when I opened the peds... :roll: I got the bees off of him and helped remove the stingers from his bare arms. He then promptly WROTE ME UP and I was later fired for 'refusal to wear safety equipment'..... :shock: :? As I did not have permission to wear or use a veil and bee jacket to remove the bees from the peds....however, I was still expected to wear the safety vest, which attracted the bees like a magnet,( as well as wear the properly approved hardhat) and that bright colored jacket was the reason that he was stung so many times..... He also told me that IF and WHEN I was stung, that was part of the job and if I needed medical attention, that I had to call and request it through the proper channels....the safety deaprtment would hear my case and if they thought that I was in 'danger' they would send out an ambilance! This was the policy! The company would rather someone gets stung to death, than violate their safety policy!

I was out in the middle of nowhere and never seen any other vehicles..no help nearby if I needed to call...well, there was not any phones for miles. Cell phones were worthless too!

Brenda

[JP]

So slow going that I pulled out the spray bottle of beequick to usher them some more. (Just a little dab of beequick will do y'all, don't overdo it and don't spray on bees, you'll regret it.)

...JP

What happens if you get it on the bees?

cundald

The main thing it does is disorient them which makes it tough to get them to orient to a catch box. Some kind of way it screws up their ability to orient.

Some may die if you get bee quick on them.

Brenda these bees in the pedestal were some of the nicest bees I've ever fooled with. Your ex boss sounds like a real serious by the textbook genius jackson, glad you moved on.


...JP

[annette]

Did I miss the photo of the black queen?? Sounds like quite an adventure and an exhausting day for you.

[JP]

Did I miss the photo of the black queen?? Sounds like quite an adventure and an exhausting day for you.

The black queen was in the swarm I caught last night, she went in very quickly, not even a nanosecond of time for a pic.


...JP

[annette]

Just sounded very interesting because all the queens you take photos of are always those beautiful orange colored ones. Never heard of a black queen.

[JP]

The black queens are indicative of Russian queens in my area. Caught one earlier this season in Belle chasse, as well.


...JP

[1reb]

Congratulations JP on another  swarm capture


Johnny

[JP]

Thank you Johnny!


...JP