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I have a hive living under my shed in the back of my yard. It’s a 10X8 foot shed and all but one of the vent holes are plugged with dirt from gophers so I have no idea how big the hive really is. It has swarmed 4 times this year and I have caught 1 of them and that one is a great working hive (better than my other 2 package hives). The hive has been there for 3-4 years that we know of, maybe longer. The only way to capture the colony and close down its operation is to jack up the shed and scrape out the comb, or cut out the floor and that just isn’t going to happen. I am happy with the bees where they are but I would like to make use of the hive and here is my plan (well, questions about a plan that’s yet to form).
Can I cut a hole into the floor of the shed and put honey supers over it for the bees to drop off their honey? If you think so, how big a hole do you think I should I cut? Do you think several small 1 inch holes augured into the floor would do or would it be better to cut out a small block, something like a 2 inch by 4 inch hole would do the job better? The only entrance that I see the bees using is a 1 X 2 inch vent hole, so a 2X4 inch hole with queen excluder over the hole would be about twice the area. Another reason to go for the smaller hole is to make the floor more easily repaired if it doesn’t work. The other plan was to cut out a hole the size of the supper bottom but I don’t think that is necessary. The swarm I captured, which I assume came from this hive, has waxed over most of the queen excluder only leaving small sections open here and there to move up to the supers and they are putting up a prodigious amount of honey for a first year hive (3 medium supers and still going strong).
I know this isn’t beekeeping to any extent as I will never get into the brood chamber or try to manage the hive, but I would provide some honey from an otherwise feral hive. And if I pull the queen excluder Maybe I could coax out the queen some day (if I get ambitious).
Can I cut a hole into the floor of the shed and put honey supers over it for the bees to drop off their honey? If you think so, how big a hole do you think I should I cut? Do you think several small 1 inch holes augured into the floor would do or would it be better to cut out a small block, something like a 2 inch by 4 inch hole would do the job better? The only entrance that I see the bees using is a 1 X 2 inch vent hole, so a 2X4 inch hole with queen excluder over the hole would be about twice the area. Another reason to go for the smaller hole is to make the floor more easily repaired if it doesn’t work. The other plan was to cut out a hole the size of the supper bottom but I don’t think that is necessary. The swarm I captured, which I assume came from this hive, has waxed over most of the queen excluder only leaving small sections open here and there to move up to the supers and they are putting up a prodigious amount of honey for a first year hive (3 medium supers and still going strong).
I know this isn’t beekeeping to any extent as I will never get into the brood chamber or try to manage the hive, but I would provide some honey from an otherwise feral hive. And if I pull the queen excluder Maybe I could coax out the queen some day (if I get ambitious).