Two Colonies Removed From House-July 13, 2010

[JP]

Got one of the queens yesterday, still waiting for the other one to pop out of a channel in an exterior metal wall. The bees appear to be extremely industrious as they attached several of the comb sections in both hives to the frames, over night.

It was so hot Schawee tried to sneak through the weeds to get to a swimming pool and left me hangin' with comb in my hands and bees in my face.  :evil:


...JP

Two Honey Bee Colonies Removed From House

[Irwin]

Just done watching this on youtube you two crack me up :-D

[AllenF]

You two make the best videos.   And I always thought that starting at lunch was a late start, but 4:00, that's quitting time.  And with the queen, there, I saw her first.

[G3farms]

The bee brothers strike again!!

JP you better keep an eye on that Schawee, he done stole your umbrella and then sneaking off on ya. You two are a riot.

I see you got it on the finger for telling a fib about finding that queen the other day :-D :-D

[skflyfish]

Two thumbs and a big toe up!!!  :-D

[annette]

JP are you sure Schawee is being gentle with my umbrella?? (My umbrella/Your umbrella :?)

That was a very funny video, it looks like you are both having way too much fun doing all that work. I nearly died laughing when he was hiding in the tall grass.

And with your track record for finding queens, I do believe you found her first :-D :-D

Annette

[JP]

We went back last night and took the hive I secured the queen in. The second hive is still happy and busy but still haven't seen the queen.

Something may have happened to her during the cut out or she's still holed up in that metal channel, not sure but I'm giving them another day or two.

Annette, I'm sending Schawee home with quite a few new hives but he can't have "the red umbrella!"


...JP

[AllenF]

JP, you are going to have to get the hands free umbrella.   The kind that fits your head like a hat, red of course.   Then you can work in the shade and keep both hands free, and you will not worry about your red umbrella walking off with Schawee.   

[Kathyp]

you guys are a riot!

i have a a question.  do you ever use bee quick etc. to try to run the queen out?  i ask because it's seems to work well when the queen gets into something in a swarm, but i have not had such good luck when it's an established hive.  if you have any tricks from running her out, i'd love to know them.

[Shawn]

That might yet be the best video. Not only do we get the experience of cut outs but NOW we are getting a comedy.

[cklspencer]

JP I love your videos! I've been hanging around here for a while I thought one of my first post should be to express my likeness for them. They have given tons of insight and confidence that if the time come I can handle a cut out. :)

[JP]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I really appreciate it, y'all inspire me to keep making more and lo and behold Schawee went out and bought him a camera today.

He says he ain't breaking up the team though.

But you know he has to come up with an initiation video, so...

Kathy, beequick works great on cut outs! You just have to get behind the bees or above them if in a wall void to run them out or down.

I use a large syringe to inject it after I've drilled a small hole.

The bee quick has gotten many a queens out of hiding.


...JP

[JP]

Update! So Schawee and I hauled the hive off that I got the queen in but left the other hive, which I have checked several times now in the last week for sign of the queen.

Yesterday Schawee called me with some odd news, but great news!

The hive we took away had the caged queen and another queen who was huge and walking around laying.

Without going into the hows and whys, I am pretty certain that one of the two queens is from the first colony that I just picked up tonight, no queen BTW, after inspecting.

We introduced the caged queen and the bees instantly accepted her.

So sometimes things just have a way of working out.

We are both very stoked!

So far on all our cut outs together we have gotten our queens.


...JP

[G3farms]

Well that was kind of different but it all worked out in the long run.

So that queen had been caged for four days? What was the reason for that :?

[JP]

She was caged on site in the new set up we had transferred the hive's brood comb to.

She was caged so that she wouldn't leave the set up. I have seen queens leave to go back to the old hive site along with most of the bees.

When this happens brood is abandoned and you get chilled brood that dies and invites shb.

We could see that both colony's queens were mated so caging her for four days was not a problem.


...JP

[G3farms]

Thanks JP, you taught me something new today!! :-D

Never had them leave and go back to the old hive, have had them to abscond never to be seen though.