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Author Topic: beetle free removal  (Read 1078 times)

Offline rober

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beetle free removal
« on: August 24, 2013, 11:19:47 am »
just finished up the 2nd of 2 removals that were in brick bdlgs. both had shb. got another call for a removal from a hive that is in the hollow fork of a tree. the fork split off in a storm. it's still leaning against the tree. when it split the trunk spread open exposing the hive so i had easy access to the bees. i removed & bagged most of the comb. i rubber banded the brood comb into frames ( 4 frames of brood ), put them in a nuc, & put the nuc into the cavity where the hive was. i did not see the queen so i'm hoping the brood will lure her & the bees into the nuc. amazingly i did not see a single shb in this hive. the only other removal i found to be beetle free was a colony that had just recently moved into the structure so the beetles had not found them yet. this is a huge colony. the puzzling thing however is that besides a small amount of pollen there are no stores built up. i did not find any honey at all!?
« Last Edit: August 24, 2013, 04:28:36 pm by rober »

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: beetle free removal
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2013, 11:22:50 pm »
I have hives out back that I only find dead beetles in the dry oil trays. I'm not sure how much having only rather small openings helps but I think these bees have learned how to kill the beetles. There are parts of the world where the bees kill the SHB. I think one place is Africa.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin