Drummed

[mark williams]

Hi all: In Roger Morse's book he talk's about smoking & drummed a hive.What is DRUMMED? thanks

[Michael Bush]

If you are trying to move bees from one box to another, people often put the box they want the bees in on top of the box with the bees and then tap on the side of the box with a stick or a pocket knife. The vibration causes the bees to move up. It really doesn't seem to matter if you drum on the one you want them in or the one they are in, it just causes them to move up. Sometimes when hiving a swarm you can tap on the box and it seems to speed the bees into the box. That's what they call drumming.

[mark williams]

Thank's very much Michael,that was driving me nut's trying to figure it out.I knew if it was music I was in trouble,(ha ha) mark

[Dee A. Lusby]

Hi
This reminds me of an old local beekeeper here in the area who had bad eys sight and with out bright sun here in Arizona when he wore sunglasses (before time of tinted ones) had to take his bi-folcles off.

Come spliting time going into fall he would have problems finding the queens and seeing the brood to check the eggs and open brood.

He finally solved the problem by loading the hives on his truck (kept only about 5-10 colonies by the way) and driving around the yard and up and down on the nearby road.

He said when he got done, the queens and workers would always be up, so he would take the upper brood box and set it off and put the rest of the hive back from where he took it.

Of course the bees that went back home would always raise another queen.

Regards,

Dee

[Michael Bush]

Sounds like it would work, but I think it would be easier to drum the hives than to lift them in the truck! I guess he solved his problem.

[Dee A. Lusby]

Hi Michael,
Yes, probably might have been easier to drum them, but then to each his own, and old Bert liked driving them around. Half the time I think he needed something to do to keep busy as he got older.

But in a way he was smart too. He was one that helped us get more into lift gates with the family.Saying we had to learn to think as we got older to keep from breaking our backs up in the hills.

Regards,

Dee