My first hive

[JB]

Hello everyone,
Like I mentioned on the welcome page this will be my first year with my very own hive! Now that I have the equipment built it is time to start beelining. I live in a suburban area between San Antonio and Austin so only time will tell if this is actually going to work for me. If not I will be stuck waiting for a swarm to move in. I plan on posting pictures so those of you that are interested can come along. Well first things first lets attract some bees!! I have a jar of my grandfathers honey that I am using as bait. I mixed a little with some water and put it on a plate in the back yard. It did not take long before I had a few visitors. I plan to give them a few days before setting out to find the hive. This way I have plenty of bees to follow. Wish me luck!! -JB

[Kathyp]

you might read up on hive removal.  you'll find lots of stuff on here with pictures.  put an add on craigslist.com, or list with your fire department, bee store, etc.  that way, you may be able to do some simple removals and get some bees.

some people charge.  i don't have the experience to feel comfortable doing that and i am only doing out buildings, and swarms.  no houses, etc.  you might be surprised how many people have bees in the barn wall and want them removed. 

[Jerrymac]

You can of course add your name to the Beemaster map so people can find you and call.

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=8337.0

Then I have gotten calls (from people in your area) from these locations.

http://www.ebeehoney.com/swarmremovalmap.html
http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/
http://www.beecare.com/indexDynFrames.htm?http://www.beecare.com/Navigation/BBoard/SwarmList.htm&1

[JB]

Thanks for the tips. I am going to try beelining first and see what happens. If I can't find a hive you can bet the whole town will know I am looking for bees! Thanks again- JB

[Moonshae]

Those are some great pictures!

[Jerrymac]

About those pictures..... Were you hiding in the bowl of syrup?

[jimmy_in_texas]

In your area you'd best be prepared in case you do find a feral hive,
they just might turn out to be AHB, they potentially could find you before you find them if you get in the hives defensive zone.
not trying to scare you, but you never know.

Good luck and stay safe but a package sure is easy and you get a good queen too,

JB

[JB]

Moonshae- Thanks I enjoy taking pictures of them as much as working with them!

Jerrymac- Sure looks that way. I was trying out the zoom lens and was about three feet away.

Jimmy- Thanks for the word of caution. I have already arranged for testing if I manage to find a hive.                              Unless they find me first. Then I guess there is no need for anymore testing.

[steveouk]

JB those pictures are awesome ! Well done and good luck with your hive !

[Cindi]

JB, you got some pretty cool pictures going on there.  Nice.  Good luck with your beelining, have a wonderful and beautiful day, Cindi

[JB]

Steveouk, Cindi- Thanks with any luck I will get out this weekend to see If I can find the hive. I will have my camera with me just in case!

[JordanM]

How do you plan on following the bees back to there hive. They fly pretty fast and can get pretty hard to see and follow.

[JB]

JordanM- I am lucky enough to have a grandfather to show me how to beeline. Rather than type the lesson I got from him ( would take forever) you can get a pretty good idea of how its done by doing a forum search for "beelining".

[JB]

I was able to mark a few bees this morning and time them to get an idea just how far I would have to walk. I was surprised to find the bees were much closer than I had thought. So with bees in tow I headed over to the end of the street about 300 yds and released a few bees and waited. The released bees flew in a straight line toward a wooded lot about 500 yds away. I moved to the edge of the woodline and released a few more bees and waited. In a few minutes I had plenty of bees to follow so I put the honey down and started to follow the flight line. I made it about 40yds into the trees and there they were.

[bassman1977]

Wow!  Doesn't seem like there was much effort at all. 

[Cindi]

JB, now isn't that just the cat's meow!!  Wow, how impressive.  You were really lucky to have been able to follow them, I can't wait to see the pictures.  You have to tell us more about this thing, it is going to be a really cool story to hear about.  I can bet your bottom dollar you are going to get a whole bunch of people interested in this beelining thing, it is cool.  Have a great and wonderfully awesome day, Cindi

[Kimbrell]

Fascinating!  I had heard of beelining before, but never had thought about the actual practice.  Congratulations on your success!  Beautiful pictures, too.

[JB]

Sorry the pictures are not that great but I didnt have any gear on and was afraid they might be african. Tomorrow I will get a sample and send it off to be tested on Monday. The land that the tree is on will be cleared for construction some time next month. If the test comes back negative my grandfather is going to come down from E Texas to help with the cutout. This has really been fun so far and I am glad I tried this out. I will keep you posted. Thanks, JB

[asciibaron]

I sure hope the test come back negative - saving the colony from the bulldozers is a great thing, but being able to foster and grow the hive is the ultimate statement.  Can't wait for the cutout pictures...

-Steve

[Brian D. Bray]

Build an x out of a few boards to hold the one end up and cut if off at the ground.  You can start moving it towards your place.  Personally I wouldn't wait for the test to come back before doing the cut out.  You can always requeen an AHB hive.