Hello everyone. Even tho I learned so much from this forum; it does not prepare you for the total distruction you can do during a cutout. This hive was new and i knew that going in. I should have done this differently. The comb was so soft and so heavy with honey, that it just fell apart. I dropped a large piece and may have done the queen in for all i know. I have a couple more hives to go. Lets hope I hit a learning curve quick! I have yet to see how the video came out but will post the few pictures I took at a later date. I'm going back soon to see if they have settled down in one location and hope to find the queen.
This time of year they get tougher. Its hot, most hives have a bunch of honey and the newer the combs, the harder they are to handle.
I did one like you described this evening. A sticky mess. I framed two brood sections in a deep nuc and left the set up, will go back and see if I can make sense out of things.
They don't all go as planned, but each one is a learning experience.
Good luck.
...JP
JP
Thank you for the comment. It's nice to know that a man with your experience can comfort the new-bees battered confidence.
You could never be ready for every cut-out. Each is different, with their own little surprises. I did two over the last two weeks, both in the same house, in the same wall, just on opposite ends. Neither turned out quite like I had planned, but that is just the way it goes. Just keep learning and applying the knowledge gained to the following jobs, but don't be surprised that if, after 100 or so, the bees still manage to throw a new surprise at you.
The bees I tried to remove are back where they came from with no protection, comb or honey. They are just hanging there hopeless! When I did the cutout; there were no eggs or larva. It looked like there were a couple queen cells (empty) but no queen was seen. There are 3 more hives in this wall so my question is: Will these bees go somewhere else if they have a queen or will they go to one of the other hives? I feel really bad about this and hate to see them die because of my blunder. I have nothing to offer them(eggs, brood, nothing!), this being my first attempt at a removal. :'(
Just go brush them onto foundation or what you have, and take them home. Add a feeder and let them grow.
Do as Iddee suggests and box them up, take them home and monitor their progress. If you have a brood frame to spare for them, give it to them. If no queen with resources they can make one.
You could always combine them as well with another hive.
Don't feel bad, just treat them kindly and have comfort in that.
...JP