A friend of mine has some bee tree's on his property so I went to take a look , one tall cherry has a very busy colony going and has been there for quite awhile about 30 ft. up , the other is a limb off a huge maple that rotted off and fell , the limb is about 20'' dia. . I have the limb cut about 4 or 5' long with nice flat ends for covering and moving to a better location , bee's paid no attention to me at all . When I start cutting comb to put in frames I saw where Lauri used cable ties wrapped around the comb and the top bar of the frame has anyone tried this and is it better than rubber bands , also what if I go through all the comb and can't find the queen will the bee's stay in the hive while I am there cutting comb .
beehive in the log !!
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I am a rubber band fan. The bees chew through them and toss them out the front entrance. Seems to me a zip tie would be rather permanent unless the beekeeper removed them, which would be more disruption.
You sure the colony stayed in the log? Many times the bulk of the colony will abscond when they know there home is essentially demoralized and doomed.
All the combs in the wrong orientation from the fall, etc...
The bees will follow the queen, if she is indeed in there. You will often find her on the last of the brood, or in the last cluster of bees, so be patient...Good luck!
Edited to add...is this your first cut-out? Go to You Tube...watch JP The Beeman, Hardwood (Scott), etc. Many great cut out examples to watch. Warning...they are addictive...don't start watching just before bed... :applause:
You sure the colony stayed in the log? Many times the bulk of the colony will abscond when they know there home is essentially demoralized and doomed.
All the combs in the wrong orientation from the fall, etc...
The bees will follow the queen, if she is indeed in there. You will often find her on the last of the brood, or in the last cluster of bees, so be patient...Good luck!
Edited to add...is this your first cut-out? Go to You Tube...watch JP The Beeman, Hardwood (Scott), etc. Many great cut out examples to watch. Warning...they are addictive...don't start watching just before bed... :applause:
They seem fine , I could see the comb up inside and the land owner said some days there were alot of bee's going in and out but I'll know more when I get it opened up . I'll go with the rubber bands , hope the colony is intact might be some good genes , the comb ran up inside at least 6 ft . and 20'' dia.
What are my options if I can't find the queen , let them raise there own , or get another queen but then I loose the gene pool . Its just nice when you have the queen and they can't wait to climb in the box .
What are my options if I can't find the queen , let them raise there own , or get another queen but then I loose the gene pool . Its just nice when you have the queen and they can't wait to climb in the box .
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Got the log home tonight , all went well , I put a piece of plywood on one end and a piece of fiberglass window screen on the other end , this stuff is great and very easy to work with went around the log with a staple gun to fasten the screen and the bee's traveled fine . Can't wait to start cutting out the comb , hope I can find the queen .
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