Part 2 of Macon,Ga removal. the cutout

[divemaster1963]

Well I did the stump cutout this morning. boy I wish I had a helper. the stump was rotted down past the roots. the hive went down instead of up. 3 feet down in the ground to be exact. UH. My back is killing me and I am going to pay for it sunday. they had a pretty good disposition. only a few got mad at me when i dumped them into the box. a few of the girls really wanted to get me between the eyes. I got them home after dark. I let them be for the week to clean house then I need to add the foundations to the second top box. I filled 9 1/2 frames with brood and a good bet of honey. the hive was tight in the trunk of the tree.

enjoy the photos
john

[vmmartin]

Cool pics. Does look like it was alot of work.  At least you had nice shade.

[divemaster1963]

I was in the shade the whole day. some big old Cedar trees. one nocked over to one side. I told the owner I would trade the removal for 2 of the bigger cedar trees   . I am still waiting for a reply.

john


I was there from 9 am till 3:30pm then went back at 7:30 to get the boxes.

[AllenF]

Where's the backhoe to excavate the bees?       Good pics.

[D Semple]

What no ladder?

Neat removal, never thought the bees would go down below ground level like that. Thanks for the pictures.

[duck]

AHB's prefer ground cavitys 

[JP]

Great job & nice pics!


...JP

[David McLeod]

I've seen three different colonies down in the ground like that. I'm setting up a trapout on the third one this week.

[JP]

I see you're using the Harbor Freight generator too.


...JP

[divemaster1963]

I see you're using the Harbor Freight generator too.


...JP

Yea JP I got it on sale then added a 20% off coupon to. it works great for hand tools plus it will run the 3 hp vac. its hard on it because the vac is 7 amps which puts it at the limit. (7amps X 115 volts= 805 watts). so it runs Little slow which works out great also because it will just pull the bees off the comb and not hurt them.

[JP]

Yep, I may have killed mine with my new vac using a 5HP motor. 


...JP

[SkepWrangler]

Hi Divemaster,
Do you reckon they're AHB?  (Given the percentage that were below ground?  If so, how long do you figure they have been in the stump?  Was there evidence they had been in a taller tree, but over time moved down as the upper part went away?
Would you be interested in sending me a dozen freshly dead bees and I could genotype the colony to get an idea of what percentage Africanized genetics?

[divemaster1963]

Hi Divemaster,
Do you reckon they're AHB?  (Given the percentage that were below ground?  If so, how long do you figure they have been in the stump?  Was there evidence they had been in a taller tree, but over time moved down as the upper part went away?
Would you be interested in sending me a dozen freshly dead bees and I could genotype the colony to get an idea of what percentage Africanized genetics?

I don't beleve they are any AHB in this colony. For one I have been working the hive without gear. they are very calm bees. the size cells they have are close to the 4.9mm. they moved into a stump that was ate out by termites. the cavity was only in the bottom of the Pine tree. The upper part of the stump was solid Fatlight. I have for starting the fireplace this next winter.

john