Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: Hoot Owl Lane Bees on February 23, 2013, 10:01:16 am

Title: Feral hive hunting
Post by: Hoot Owl Lane Bees on February 23, 2013, 10:01:16 am
I have a question for my fellow beekeepers down under or any one who may know.
I am planning on tracking down several wild hives in my area of Missouri USA. (hundreds of acres of forest)
I was talking with a fellow bee keeper at our club about my plans and he told me about something he saw in a move.
Apparently the Aborigines attach a string with a feather to a harvester bee so they can see it better when tracking them back to the wild hive. :?
Does anyone have any links or more info about this?
(Is this true?)

Jim
Hoot Owl Lane Bee's
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: hardwood on February 23, 2013, 10:26:37 am
If you are having trouble seeing the bees when beelining a feral colony you can make them easier to spot by dusting with powdered sugar of powdered chalk. I've also heard of tying a piece of fishing line to the bees which "glows" in the sunlight. I would think a whole feather might slow the bee down a good bit.

Scott
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: iddee on February 23, 2013, 11:08:21 am
Micheal Bush has posted on other forums, and maybe on his site, about using feathers.

http://www.bushfarms.com/ (http://www.bushfarms.com/)
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: Vance G on February 23, 2013, 12:26:52 pm
I thought Down Under they just sat in the shade of a kulibah tree and waited til their billy boiled and the swarm just waltzed in!
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: Geoff on February 23, 2013, 05:04:08 pm
    You got it right Vance, both for bees and people. Well done Mate !!
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: edward on February 23, 2013, 07:56:50 pm
You could do some bee lines and direction finding with a bee box.

Put out a plate with sugar/honey and wait for the bees to come. Catch a few and paint them in different colors and time them between there visits to the bait/honey and there hive.
Divide the time with the flight speed of the bees and you can get an idea of how far away the hive is.

Catch multiple bees in the bee box and let them out 100-200yards to the left and right of the bait station. Take a compass bearing of there flight path back to there hive and draw it on a map and you will get an X marks the spot of the hive, Or your own pot of golden honey.

The feather they use was on a big hornet in the Asian jungle and then they ate the larvae for there protein.

mvh edward  :-P
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: edward on February 23, 2013, 08:01:57 pm
Here is a link http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/bee-lining-the-oldtimers-way-to-find-wild-beehives (http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/bee-lining-the-oldtimers-way-to-find-wild-beehives)

google Bee Lining and you can find more info.


mvh edward  :-P
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: Michael Bush on February 25, 2013, 05:08:17 pm
If you intend to slow them down, I would use a small down feather.  Another option is a short string... if you eyesight is good enough, you won't need it...
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: divemaster1963 on February 25, 2013, 07:47:36 pm
Try beelining. watch Hardwoods video of him and his honey tracking down a sneaky apiary owner in Florida. I use to do beelining as a young man with my uncle. that was how he built up from winter losses in Va. It takes time and patients. get a couple of kids to help watch the bees. their eyes are better at seeing the bees in fight. try to do it in the morning or late in the evening so the sun reflects off the bees.

John

Here's the post:http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,35384.0.html
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: edward on February 25, 2013, 08:11:20 pm
Try beelining. watch Hardwoods video of him and his honey tracking down a sneaky apiary owner in Florida.

And the you tube video
Beelining.wmv (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dri-7D1bsrs#ws)

mvh edward  :-P
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: Lone on February 26, 2013, 07:49:16 am
Hello Jim,

Note that you are talking about little bees approximately 4mm long.

Here you are
http://www.readplus.com.au/blog_detail.php?id=3027 (http://www.readplus.com.au/blog_detail.php?id=3027)

http://www.ecosmagazine.com/?act=view_file&file_id=EC107p16.pdf (http://www.ecosmagazine.com/?act=view_file&file_id=EC107p16.pdf)

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=5Uy20CDWknwC&pg=PA167&lpg=PA167&dq=aborigines+feather+track+bees&source=bl&ots=xu4L1W0M75&sig=MPnNl5rwtf9ZLtZmtsJltB5gVXo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ap8sUZrwDYqdiAev-oGICg&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=aborigines%20feather%20track%20bees&f=false (http://books.google.com.au/books?id=5Uy20CDWknwC&pg=PA167&lpg=PA167&dq=aborigines+feather+track+bees&source=bl&ots=xu4L1W0M75&sig=MPnNl5rwtf9ZLtZmtsJltB5gVXo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ap8sUZrwDYqdiAev-oGICg&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=aborigines%20feather%20track%20bees&f=false)

Lone

Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: Lone on February 26, 2013, 07:58:06 am
Quote
I thought Down Under they just sat in the shade of a kulibah tree and waited til their billy boiled and the swarm just waltzed in!

Vance, you are a laugh a minute or more often at times.  I haven't stopped laughing about you eating cats instead of vegemite yet either.

Lone
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: Geoff on February 26, 2013, 05:55:57 pm
    Dont eat those ready to go burgers Lone, you might laugh yourself "horse".
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: Hoot Owl Lane Bees on February 27, 2013, 12:32:44 am
Thank You all for the info.

Just some background. I live in part of the Mark Twain Nat. Forest in Missouri USA. The hills here are about 1/2 - 3/4 mile apart and drop around 200' or more. We don't have very large open area's. When the bee's leave the bait they go straight up over the trees. I lost all 3 of our hives last year do mostly to the heat/drought. But when we set the feeders out after cleaning up the hives they were FULL of bee's.
They have started hitting our bait feeders on 45% days so they cant be to far away. :-D
Thank You again
Jim
Hoot Owl Lane Bee's
Mo. USA
Title: Re: Feral hive hunting
Post by: OzBuzz on March 11, 2013, 11:33:45 pm
Put out some swarm traps! less hassle :)