Now What???

[Mrs. Jack T.]

Got our "bee tree" home this morning. . . Because of the weight and lack of a tractor with a front end loader it is still laying on its side. We just pulled the screen off and put a make shift lid on (chance of rain) and put a 1:1 feeder on top. . . Went out this evening to look at them and a bunch of them were congregated on the bottom of the lid we put over them. They did drink quite a bit of the sugar/water and there seemed to be several flying around. Any suggestions on how to proceed? This LINK (http://www.johnbhusted.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=68641) will show you a pic of them.
Here is a LINK (http://www.johnbhusted.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=68607) to the whole album of our "Caleb" Hive if interested.
THANKS!

P.S. THANKS for the suggestion of duct tape! They were using the front end loader to load the piece in the back of the pick-up and the guy dropped the bucket it in the wrong spot and cut a hole in the wire screen, thankfully I had some duct tape at hand to repair the screen and only 2 bees escaped! (And a friend w/ a glove on to hold his hand over the screen while I went to fetch the tape!)

[sistone]

To bad you couldn't find a way to set and hive body on there for them to move on up into. That would simplify things.

[Mrs. Jack T.]

To bad you couldn't find a way to set and hive body on there for them to move on up into. That would simplify things.
I agree! I think we are going to play with it tomorrow. They were pretty agitated when we got them home so I was hoping they'd settle a bit before we messed with them too much. The hole covering is a hive lid so we may be able to sit the box over the hole with just a few frames in it and then use that lid to cover the hive box. I'm hoping that will work and be the easiest "extraction" from the tree! Would save us a lot of work!

[sistone]

And with luck maybe the queen will walk in on her own. :D

[Primo]

If I remember right you said they had just moved in to this tree a week or so ago.
I would try and cut with the chainsaw till you get what used to be the bottom of the hive open, put a box with at least 1 frame of open brood at the current entrance and use some beequick or beego and try and fume them out, this can be done with an UNLIT smoker and some old rags.
Then after I got as many out as possible split the tree by cutting slits but not all the way in to the cavity and using wedges to open it and get the rest out.
More than likely there will be comb with eggs inside.

[drobbins]

I'd cut a piece of plywood the size of a hive body and put a 2" hole in the center
then nail it over the entrance in the log with the hole centered over the entrance
then roll the log the best you can to get the plywood level
add a box with some drawn comb if you have it and a top feeder
cross fingers and hope for the best:)
I would think their comb in the log is now positioned all wrong and they'd be prone to abandon it

Dave

[Mrs. Jack T.]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure if my other 2 hives are far enough ahead to steal comb from. . . This is our first year so hive Adam is only a bit over 1 month old and has about 90% of the first deep filled and hive Benjamin we acquired 2 weeks ago and has only about half a deep filled. . . So, I hate to steal from them! I do have some frames w/ wired foundation if that would help any, or if ya'll think I should steal a frame from one of the other hives let me know, as I said we are new to this and have very little idea of what to do!!!!!!!!!:confused:

[Primo]

I tried to get bees to move in a box on top all on their own most of last summer.
Sprayed frames with sugar syrup, honeyBhealthy, lemongrass oil and the whole bit with no luck and they were dead this spring when I thought I would have a box of bees and an empty log.
I put a piece of plywood on for a roof for a week or so before I tried to put the box on top.
http://www.primoelite.com\Bees\images\tree\P1010100.JPG
http://www.primoelite.com\Bees\images\tree\P1010103.JPG
http://www.primoelite.com\Bees\images\tree\p1010073.jpg

[Ross]

I tried one log for two years and they never moved on their own. I finally cut them out.