:shock:
Woke up this morning, went out on my deck for coffee and almost wore it. My blended hive had fallen nearly 2 feet was on its side. Both deeps were open and most of the comb I banded in from the cut out was torn from it's mounts. This is mostly brood and honey, all that they have. I've done all I can do, went thru, looked for my queen, but did not see her. The only good part of it was, as I was putting the frames back in I got to witness a baby or 3 chewing out of it's cell!
Now THAT's Some cool stuff there!!!
I've now got the hive on 2 metal benches which cannot be blown over. God..such lessons we learn the hard way.
Sorry to hear that. On the up side, didn't you just pick up a small swarm that probably has a queen? If so, maybe that will save you from waiting for an emergency queen.
I botched a swarm removal today and killed a lot of bees. I came home and told my wife, to which she responded, "You kill more bees than that disease on the news. Maybe you should let the poor things be."
Do you know what might have caused it to topple over yet?
Usually with a regular hive, and not a cutout, this is not so big of a disaster. You just set it back up and life goes on. It probably is worse with all that comb unattached. All you can do is set things right and let them sort it out.
They don't fall off of landscape timbers sitting flat on the ground.
It was my own fault folks, I did not follow my mentors suggestion to place them on pallets. INSTEAD I used an aluminum drywall finishing bench, which could not withstand the wind and sunk into the soft ground.
I've done all I can do. They seem to have stopped pollen storeing so I'm going to wait a week and see how they act. Calling an expert over at Wye Mills here on the Eastern Shore ( Micheal Embry) and seeing if he still has Queens, just in case. The colony is still fairly stable, but winter is coming.
My other swarm does not appear to have a queen, but they are packed so tight against the hive body it's hard to tell.
Thanks for letting me vent folks. Live and learn.