Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

adopting an unattended hive in Austin Texas

4K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  dandio 
#1 ·
My neighbor decided that he didnt want his hive any more and I agreed to adopt it. He hasn't given the hive any attention in at least 6 months. Im not sure if he has even taken the top off during this time. Im a new to beekeeping though i do have bees on order that will arrive in the next few weeks. In any case, I went out to check the neighbors hive today expecting to find honey to harvest as I live in Austin Texas and have heard that bee keepers often harvest honey by this time in the year. What I found, though, was a crowded and somewhat aggressive colony with no honey. Some of the comb seemed to be irregular in form. I did see a few spots that had nectar and were uncapped but it was pretty sparse. I took several photos. Can anyone with experience, especially in central Texas look at the photos and give me your best assessment of the situation? Is this normal? Will there likely be honey later in the summer? Is there anything I can do to help this hive out?

You can see the photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/115378110614945618171/AdoptedHive?authkey=Gv1sRgCLLrycG1j4_MrAE

Many Thanks!
 
#9 ·
Well, the frames are too widely spaced, for one.
It is difficult to keep the bees calm in an unworked hive as everything is stuck together tightly, including lid, frames and boxes.
I would have a well lit smoker going and slowly take it apart comb by comb. Have a 5 gallon pail or some such in which to place the honey from any comb that is not as it should be.
Get down to the bottom box, If there is no brood, add a frame with eggs.
There seems to be a fair amount of bees, so my bet is that there is a queen.
Good luck.
AND, the bees are often easier to work on a nice sunny morning, rather than late in the day when the field force may all be home. Slowly and gently are the key words for this operation.
 
#10 ·
Thank you for all of this great information. Yes, the hive was pretty aggressive but im sure part of that was my inability to keep it slow and quiet due to the difficulty of getting the frames out. I also imagine that, to some extent, the bees must get used to the presence of a keeper and, after months of neglect, are a bit more wary.

Now on to another question: What is the best way to carry this hive into my backyard?
Ive heard that you transport bees at night so my plan was to pick a cool evening sometime in the next couple of days, put a strap around the hive and carry it over with my fiance. Should I cover the front entrance/exit so that none of the bees can get out? Does this sound like a good plan?

Thanks!
 
#12 ·
Since you are going out there today, bring a rachet strap and strap the hive around, top to bottom, before you leave. If you wait till you are about to move it they will get annoyed (bees and fiancé, both).

I also vote for the entrance to be screened, first thing you do at go time.

Since this is at your neighbors house, do you have a plan for getting the bees to orient to their new location and not go back to their old yard?

Daniel
 
#16 ·
I bet you will only get to feed it once or twice before your nectar flow starts anyway.. I'm just a few hours North of you and I'm seeing Indian Blanket and various other wildflowers popping up already, and I assume you guys are a bit ahead of us..

I'd bring it to the out yard and be done with it.. but even if you kept it at your house, as long as you give the bees reason to re-orient, I think you would be okay. If any end up next door you could always get them.

For feed, use 1:1. As far as how much feed will they take, I bet the 2 gal will get them through a week okay... and this time of year there are more nectar sources coming on line every week, so I wouldn't be surprised if they lost interest in your feed pretty soon anyway. You just need to make sure they get over the hump..

Good luck!
Daniel
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top