Went to my first cutout, with another beekeeper friend. It was in a huge partially finished attic. Hive wasn't very big, but we got there early, got all the comb, the queen, and all the bees. With the bee vac I think we might have left ten bees behind. (The queen came along with a piece of comb.) The hive was TOTALLY out in the open on a wall of spray on insulation. This hive had just about 0 honey stores - either because it was fairly new or because the hive was losing a lot of bees to two sidelight windows in the attic. Foragers apparently would get attracted to the light, get confused (the windows were really deep from inside, like 6 feet deep), and buzz against the windows until they died. I'm not sure this hive would have made it through the winter at the rate they were going. Anyway, here's pics.
(http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz109/greenbtree/beekeeping/JJHive.jpg)
(http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz109/greenbtree/beekeeping/JJcutout4.jpg)
(http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz109/greenbtree/beekeeping/JJcutout5.jpg)
(http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz109/greenbtree/beekeeping/JJcutout9.jpg)
(http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz109/greenbtree/beekeeping/JJcutout8.jpg)
(http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz109/greenbtree/beekeeping/JJcutout-1.jpg)
(http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz109/greenbtree/beekeeping/JJcutout11.jpg)
That looks so great!! Looks like lots of brood.
Great job! Get yourself all geared up for the next one, it's addictive.
Scott
I like the juxtaposition of the wax paddles with all that spray foam.
It looks like you did really well by the bees.
Very nice looking removal. The comb looks to be very new and white.
Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I could definitely see bees piling up around that window as time went on, actually a pretty bad set up they picked out. Was the entrance just on the other side of the hive on the exterior?
Could you see the entrance hole once the hive was removed?
...JP
Actually, the top of the french doors lacked weather stripping, that's where they were coming in and out. But it still seemed to confuse them. The hole you see in the foam insulation after removal was just a pocket that led nowhere. So the homeowner just had to throw in some weather stripping and they were done. I swept up dead bees by doors and windows, so I left the place super clean. I always can use them as a good reference.
JC
Sounds and looks like a job well done.
I always try to be neat and tidy, seems like the customer always remembers that the most.
Kind of funny how the scout bees found the opening in the door, the swarm moved into a huge open room and they decided on that one spot. Makes you wonder what drew them to that particular spot.
I like the looks of that spray insulation there.