| Feral hive
experience from Ron Bogansky on BEE-L - |
I have heard about
his but never saw one. I received a call last week from a homeowner
stating he had a beehive in his tree. I assumed he was talking
about a hollow tree. He said they were 20 ft off the ground hanging
from a branch. At this point I thought wasps. I told him that
it was probably a wasp or hornet nest. He disagreed saying they
were confirmed by someone else to be honeybees. My curiosity
got the best of me so I went over. Sure enough, there was a large
colony hanging from a branch of a spruce tree. He told me they
showed up in June, but now he was worried about them. I climbed
up the tree part way and took some photos. I told him there wasn't
much I could do now (November). The branches of the tree seem
to be protecting them somewhat and possibly they may survive
the winter. I know disrupting them would probably be just as
harmful. I told him he should have called sooner. He then hinted
to something I still find humorous. He said he was curious as
to how much the bees were worth (to him?). I was about to explain
the benefits of having bees around, but somehow I think he was
just thinking dollars.
I know this happens occasionally, but I have never witnessed
it before. I don't know what could have made the bees stay at
this location rather than finding a more suitable home. They
never cease to amaze me.
Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, (eastern) PA, USA
bogansrj@apci.com |
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Some nice photos
from Daniel Dempsey, also on BEE-L. The pictures were taken Thursday,
Nov. 25. The bees are still alive as of this date.
Daniel D. Dempsey
Red Bluff, CA 96080-0005
ddempsey@tco.net |
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This feral colony
was on Army Corp of Engineer land near a lock and dam. It started
out in a duck house and progressed outside. It has been there
for at least two years. Part of the comb appears to have been
broken off or chewed by birds or squirrels. These were taken
mid-February.
Dave Caldwell
Columbus, MS 39705 |
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Gas
Tank
Hive |
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This colony was removed in
late
May and had just finished throwing a swarm, and
possibly another swarm two or three weeks earlier.
What puzzled me was that there
was only about 25
pounds of honey and only a very small amount of
scattered capped brood and maybe about a half a frame
of larva in various stages. Most of the comb was
empty. I did not locate a queen so maybe she got
coned out on her mating flight. And the cone was only
left on for about 5 days.
Joe Waggle
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