External Colony Removed From Porch-June 21, 2010

JP · June 22, 2010, 12:56:55 AM

Except for the intense heat, this was a beautiful removal, lots of fun, great bees and a very good queen.

...JP

External Colony Removed From Porch

JP · June 22, 2010, 01:00:26 AM

Oh, wound up putting them in a deep and a medium, but you only see the deep in the video. It was an after thought, but with all these bees I think they needed the extra space.

Will pick them up tomorrow night or next night after that.

...JP

montauk170 · June 22, 2010, 01:18:33 AM

Nice video! Love seeing the bees all marching in. :)

Irwin · June 22, 2010, 07:59:10 AM

That was cool Jp thanks :-D

skflyfish · June 22, 2010, 11:51:22 AM

Enjoyed this one, as always, you ole Jeti Swarm-master. :-D

Shawn · June 22, 2010, 11:57:32 AM

Jp, U the man. I dont know how you can find the queen when doing that kind of work. Once again a great video and cant wait until the next one.

JP · June 22, 2010, 12:19:27 PM

Thanks y'all! I think it will be hard for me to top this one. The interaction of Dad and son and Mom is priceless. This kid is way too cute and what's funny was that a lot of his comments were dead on!

...JP

skflyfish · June 22, 2010, 01:09:22 PM

I also liked the stereo effect of the bees buzzing. First it was on the right side of my laptop, then it was on the left side, and both times so loud that it made you wonder ......... 'live or Memorex'. :-D

Jay

iddee · June 22, 2010, 10:53:37 PM

Another nice job, JP, but let me tell you about a new, modern, up to date piece of equipment they have on the market today. It's called scaffolding. It makes a job like that 10 times easier. You ought to check it out. :evil: :-D :-*

annette · June 23, 2010, 01:55:32 PM

Beautiful JP!! You always keep me in awe with how you find the queen. Thanks once again for sharing.

I also just loved the comments of the people, it adds so much.

Annette

JP · June 23, 2010, 02:01:11 PM

Thanks Annette!

Iddee, if I use scaffolding, the price of the job would have to go up and I'm competing with more bee removers every new season.

If I buy some I have to get a bigger trailer, which would be more of a pain on parking than now.

This last one was fine without scaffolding but the one before that it sure would have been nice to have.

Thanks for the feed back everyone!

...JP

jhs494 · June 25, 2010, 07:53:07 AM

Beautiful work JP. You make it look too easy. I bet going up and down that ladder in the heat was a real treat.
You can see the nectar dripping when you flick your hive tool. Very nice video.
Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

pondman · June 25, 2010, 08:14:13 AM

Thanks JP

Another great video you have sharded with us. You make it look so easy an you find the queen. Thanks again

Pondman

JP · June 25, 2010, 10:25:12 PM

Oh, the power of editing! :-D

If you take your time, are thorough and persistant, success has to follow.

This is what I know to be true concerning removals: If you move in a fashion that doesn't aggravate the bees and use the smoker wisely, most removals are an enjoyable experience, unless of course you are dealing with a colony that is hell bent on giving you a rough time of it.

Most of the ones I deal with in my area are a joy to work with, 99% of the time.

If the environment is kept relatively clean of dripping honey and sticky bees, the removal will be an enjoyable one.

Once all the comb sections have been removed and you still haven't found the queen (assuming you did not unknowingly transfer her into the new set up, smoosh her by accident, or vacuum her up) she is there, you just have to find her and catch her.

It has been my experience many times to catch her within a ball of bees after all comb sections have been removed and transferred.

The remaining bees will show you where she is.

If they are going into a void next to where the hive existed previously, she likely is in that void. You have two choices of dealing with this situation.

Access the void, or if you have the time, give them time and she will move back out. I've had queens move back out within minutes, some 36 hours later.

There is a third choice: driving her out. A little bee quick strategically placed behind the bees will often draw remaining bees and the queen out of a void space. This tactic can also be applied to joust newly set up swarms from a void space, but you have to apply your bee quick behind the bees or you could risk driving them deeper into the void space.

Even with all the right tools for the job and tricks of the trade, I am ever reminded that I am on their time table not mine.

Lastly, never upon any circumstance tell your wife you will be home early, because you have what you believe to be an easy removal.

Once that statement has been uttered, you have signed your death sentence! :-D

...JP