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What is the longest you have kept a hive alive?

8K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  BeeGhost 
#1 ·
When I talked to the man that owned them, he said he got them in 98 and hasn't done anything with them since.
I once was told about a bee tree that had been active for ten years. I kept an eye on it through that summer and fall, and when I checked on it the next spring, it was dead. Later that year a new colony moved in. I suspect that is what had been happening each year, making folks think that it was an old colony.

The quote at the beginning of this post made me think of that bee tree and wonder how long anyone has verified that a colony has lived. Perhaps some of you have some stories to share. I am also curious about the average length of colony life.
 
#2 ·
This would be a good question for feral colony observer Dr. Tom Seeley. He has kept track of bee trees in the Arnot Forest near Ithaca,NY as part of his study of bee behavior.

I removed a colony of bees from the eaves of the Church I attend because a new roof is being applied. That location had been a home for bees for well over thirty years. I have observed it for some 12 years myself. Max Coots, two ministers ago, mentioned this hive and another one in one of his Sermons. Over the last 12 years there have been years when it was unoccupied, but most years it was occupied.

This could be an interesting question to see the answers to. Thanks for asking it.
 
#4 ·
In keeping with these thoughts,

How soon MIGHT a swarm / colony move into a recently vacated hive?

As in : If you have bees checked monthly? / weekly? / daily? and find them continuously when can you be certain it is the same colony?
 
#8 ·
My oldest queen was 3 years old, she was replaced by the bees this summer. In the last 5 years we have lost one hive. I have to agree with AR Beekeeper failure to raise replacement queens is something you have to watch out for. Probably the number one mistake, followed by Varroa. I check my hives at least once a month for queen-rightness.
 
#9 ·
I ask myself, what difference does it make? Maybe honeybees are only supposed to stay in a hive 3 to 5 years and then die out or leave. Maybe this is the natural rejuvenation cycle of honeybees. maybe wax moths are good! Humans tend to define "good" as it pertains to them in the short cycle (always looking at the bottom line). I wonder how "good" would be defined looking through a honeybee's eye?
 
#15 ·
One should evaluate ones performance by how well one can keep their equipment occupied, not how long a particular colony stays alive.
I suspect that if you never took a drop of honey the hive would remain occupied for the majority of time passing until it no longer provided protection from the elements.
 
#14 ·
When the queen dies, the workers will create new queen and start new hive.
The bees will create a new queen but the hive continues.

The hive's lifespan only depends on having a continuous presence of a queen or a succession of queens. The lifespan of a particular queen is of little importance to the hive. As long as it has the resources to requeen itself, the hive continues on, sometimes many times the lifespan of the average queen.

Wayne
 
#16 ·
I received my bees from a beekeeper who received his bees via a swarm. The swarm was caught 7 years ago and the same hive genetics have been present in that hive since that time. The beekeeper made a nuc for me from those bees in the spring of 2011. That very generous beekeeper never treated with any chemicals and would intermittently sprinkle some powdered sugar when he remembered to. I made a nuc from those bees for a friend (as a "pay it forward" kind of thing) this spring.
I decided to treat last fall and after seeing what I just saw yesterday, looks like I'll be doing it again. I hate varroa mites.
 
#18 ·
ferals appear to be making a comeback in my area. I have been monitoring a tree hive that has been alive for 3 continuous years [others say it has been there longer]. I check it every spring, long before drones are flying and it has been alive. I believe that's the best time to determine if a hive has been surviving for a period of time.
 
#19 ·
My oldest continually occupied hive/colony is six years old, treatment free. Second oldest is 4 years. rest are younger, as I just started with two hives six years ago. Of course it has had different queens in six years.

I wonder how many feral "comebacks" are the result of swarms from managed colonies, esp. survivor stock? I would guess quite a few. That's part of why I don't worry about swarms too much, my way of helping repopulate the feral population.
Regards,
Steven
 
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