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Hello all,
My name is Troy Fields and I'm an aspiring beekeeper in Clay County, KY.
My Father and I managed to winter over a feral hive in a sectioon of a tree we got from some loggers last fall, and we're trying to coax them into a hive, we also have one hive we bought from a local beek, and have two swarms ordered from Kelley's
Looking forward to talking bees with all of you!
Welcome to the forum Troy- neat story about the feral hive. Let us know how it goes, and feel welcome to scan around all the forums.
Well, When they cut the tree, they cut into the very top of the hive. Enough to see the top of the comb, but not bother it.
Just this week, I built a custom bottom board with a hole the size of a bee-escape, and mounted the board (With a hive body, of course) on top of the section of tree (It's about six feet).
I'm hoping the girls will build up into the hive body, and if I see evidence of the queen (Brood) or the queen herself upstairs, I'll but a bee escape on and block off the lower entrance so they can get out of the tree and into the hive, but not back into the tree.
I figure I'll allow enough time to get the girls out of the tree and move the hive body onto a regular stand and eliminate the tree.
It sounds good to me, but I realize.. the best laid plans...
We'll see. I wish I had a camera.
Sounds like it's worth a try, and will be interesting to hear what happens. How large is the hive in the tree section?