got another call out Friday. a apt. complex had bees in the floor. I got my friend to come with me sat. morning. started at 8:30 after the gunfire calmed down and they arrested the shooter. :shock:. Forgot to get the camera out of the truck. I was not going to leave the building without escort. the bees were calm. It ended up being 96 inches wide by 72 inches long. covered 4 floor joists. the comb was 10inches tall. we filled 3 deeps with brood and 2 coolers with honey comb. everything was great till I got them home. and dumped the beevac boxes on the hives. they were peeved really really bad. I have the hive 150 feet from the back of the house. they have been chasing me and the wife in the house all evening. she said that she hopes they are not AFB"s I said no they were mad that I had the in the vac boxes for 4 hours. and that they should calm down over the next few days. ;). I hoping for a call back. they have 3 more hives in other buildings. By the way there was a ton of drone cells and some were the biggest drones I have ever seen. we ended the job at 2:30.
John.
I am going armed next time and bringing a friend who is a police officer :jerry:. and am charging hazard pay.
3 deeps of brood, they were booming. Any queen cells?
Check my math, but I'm figuring 40 cubic feet of comb in 3 spaces. I seriously doubt that was one colony. They are likely mean and fighting because 3 colonies were combined together with 3 queens in 10 cubic feet of space.
If that is the case, then there is just one hive now.
Good on ya!
Scott
There was only one entrance. the bees have settled in now.there was no fighting among the bees. the were only mad at me bring them home. Our temps have been so mild we are having bee calls like mad. got another one today. in a wall in a garage. I believe it was only one colony. because the rafters were filled one with brood, one with older close honey, one with new honey closed and open, and they were starting to expand the brood area. there are three more large colonies in the complex. I have talked to others and they say they are finding massive size colonies this year.one guy has been working on one for three days. he has made three hives with then and is adding queens. I processed the honey (5gal.) :piano:and about 5 pounds of wax from the crushed honey. and I have 2 more large buckets that to do after they get cleaned out by the bees. this is a great start.
Update. :-D I went by the aptment complex to give the manager a jar of the honey from the bees. the maintance guy said he noticed bees flying in and out of the room. I asked when they sealed the wall in back. it was 2 and 1/2 stories up and they had to get a wall jack form to repair the rotted seal board. he said they did it that sunday morning. well when I went in sure enough there was more bees. I saw the window was onpen and I asked how long the window was open because I closed it. he said he opened it up that night because the smell was bad. I used honey robber to push bees out of the bricks. well long story short a swarm moved in that sunday night. I vac them up today Pretty qween. I set them up in a box with a frame of honey and a half filled frame of brood to lock them to the box. two for one.I opened up the double deep they I brought home sat. they have become very gentle. I found the qween. pretty tiger stripe.
the honey was great. I sold three cases of 12oz at work in one day.
John.