Rescue mission

[lenape13]

Pam and I just returned from rescueing a hive that was scheduled for demolishion to make way for a gas pipeline.  It has not been tended for at least three years and the landowner has no clue who placed it there in the first place. He called earlier today saying it had to be moved "like now".  After volunteering my brother for heavy lifting assistance, if needed, away we went.  After the 1.5 hour drive, we arrived on the scene....



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It, at one time, was a three-deep set up.  The bottom had long ago collapsed, leaving to girls to make their way through the gap between the top two boxes.  As they had glued those frames together, we had to  move both boxes at the same time.  I attached some 2x4s, screened the gap, strapped it all together and away we went to the trailer.  I hope they survived the trip home.  I'll check on them when it gets into the 60's later this week.  I  may have to nurse them along, but I'll do what I have to.  They definitely need a new home.....LOL If I can figure out how to post video, I'll post what Pam shot later.


P.S.  Hey JP and Schawee... you guys might have gotten the first cutouts and swarms of the year, but my bees come with their own homes already.....

[AllenF]

Sweet.   I really wonder just what the comb looks like inside.   Black as tar I bet.   

[schawee]

nice job,im with allen on seeing what the comb looks like.i hope yall video it when yall open it up.by the way i never came across one  that came with their own home yet           ......schawee

[lenape13]

Moved the trailer and hive into the apiary a little bit ago.  Had to drag the trailer by hand as the ground is too soft to drive.  I'm sure the Jeep would have made it, but I'm not ready to till the yard for the garden just yet....   Unstrapped everything and sure enough, they survived the trip. As I was finishing wrapping up the straps, a few a of the girls came out for a visit, and one demonstrated her displeasure with all of the commotion.  Gotta love bees!!!    If the weather cooperates like it's supposed to, I plan to move them to new clean rooms tomorrow so that I can at least get an entrance feeder on them.

[lenape13]

Just returned from the rescue hive. I opened it up, removed most of the crappy frames and old comb, leaving only the ones with brood. Back filled the box with frames of honey and buttoned them back up again. The old comb is was a contorted mess. I can't see how they managed to survive in the matted mess. On positive note, I found the queen, she's pretty and plump, and laying great patterns. They're also starting to move down into the lower box filled with empty drawn comb.

[AllenF]

I am sure the bees were just happy with old messed up comb.   The old frames, what did the wood look like?

[yockey5]

Got me stoked! I remember getting 9 or 10 abandoned hives off and old pasture once. The old man had died years before and nobody left in the family wanted anything to do with them. One of them was the meanest colony I have ever had.
Congrats.

[Scott Derrick]

Would love to see a video of the opening. Good job!

[lenape13]

The old comb is as black as midnight at the bottom of a coal mine. As the mice had chewed through it, the bees repaired, in a never ending cycle, and in every direction. When I tried to remove the first frame, it was so tangled that I had to remove the three outer frames. Who ever had this hive, made their own frames and reinforced the comb with steel fishing leaders and screen wire, which of course was also innerwoven with the neighboring frames. Old mite-away strips were also part of the concoction. Once I got into the brood nest, it wasn't as bad.  I just cleaned out the brace comb on those four frames and put them back in place. The outer three frames on both sides I replaced with stores from a failed hive. The frames themselves, were hand made, and rapidly falling apart. Once I get the girls to move down, those last four frames will also go. The frames I removed have been set aside at the bottom of the yard to be robbed out. They had a fair amount of honey but there was no way I was planning on tasting it....LOL Overall,it was a pleasant experience. The girls did not try to sting. Their numbers were surprisingly high, in spite of what the living conditions were.