hiving feral bees in cold weather

filmmlif · January 18, 2005, 03:37:28 PM

some friends have feral bees in their wall. they've been there since last summer and now they want them out. i would like to hive them. this week it's going to be in the mid 60's during the day, 40's at night. too cold to hive them? or with the cooler weather would they be less active and maybe easier to remove. i won't do it if it's below 60...i don't want to kill any brood i might remove.
any ideas out there?

Jerrymac · January 18, 2005, 04:14:24 PM

Are you able to get to them from outside wall or an inside wall, or do you have the option of both?

filmmlif · January 18, 2005, 04:57:54 PM

i can only get at them from the outside.

Jerrymac · January 18, 2005, 05:28:37 PM

surely in the Dallas area it will be warmer in a week if another cold front isn't on the way. Perhaps wait until then?

filmmlif · January 18, 2005, 05:30:05 PM

jerrymac,
i was thinking like thursday when it's going to be mid 60's. what do u think?

Jerrymac · January 18, 2005, 06:45:43 PM

I am waiting for more experience to get in here. I'm in the same situation myself. The only thing that has stopped me from getting one feral hive during warmer days is getting all my stuff bought, built, together, what have ya. Jay seems to be pretty smart in this area. Maybe PM him to get his attention.

Jay · January 18, 2005, 11:17:51 PM

I don't know how to advise you. Here in the northeast, I wouldn't even think about trying to hive a feral swarm at this time of year. It's 3 degrees F here and the bees would die for sure!! My first question to you would be, where are they in the house? Do you know for sure that you can recover all or most of the comb with the brood nest and the honey stores? The last house extraction I was part of, the girls were deep into the floor joists between two floors and most of the comb had to be destroyed to get it out. This was not a problem for us because it was early in the spring and they turned out to be very prolific builders and ended up being very good comb honey bees! But this time in the season I assume ( and you know what everyone always says about assuming! ) that you want and even need the brood nest and all the honey stores to ensure their survival. Lets assume that you are able to recover all the comb. You are still going to "mix things up" as you cut the comb and wire it into frames. The girls are going to need some time to reacclimate to their new "home" and if they are in cluster mode or if they are taking orientation flights to figure things out after you have them back to their new home and the temperature drops for 3 days or a week or whatever then they are in deep trouble. I am at a disadvantage not knowing your climate and when it is apropriate to do different things in Texas. These are just wandering thoughts that go through my head as I read your story. If the people who have the bees in their house want them out no matter what, well you don't really have a choice anyway, do you? Good luck and let us know how it turns out whatever happens!
:D

Beth Kirkley · January 18, 2005, 11:37:40 PM

I'm thinking the same as Jay. I've never captured a hive, so I can't give you any experienced help, but a winter capture doesn't sound good. It's going to be stressfull on them. The hive will be all mixed up, and they'll need time (I would think) to get adjusted to the new home. If they can wait until warmer weather, that would probably be better.
But if they can't then do your project on a warm day for sure. And start early enough in the day so the bees can try to settle down by evening in the new home. I would also, if I were you, take a friend to help you get the comb put together in the new hive. That's a big job. But the comb is important because it'll have the brood (if there is any) and probably some honey stores. The queen and the brood is what will keep the bees wanting to stay in the hive you set up. My worry would be that the confusion would keep them from clustering right and they'd freeze. If the brood ends up dieing from the cold, that's probably not a big deal. If the hive is strong enough, and can keep warm for a couple days, the queen will lay more. But keeping the bees warm is the biggest worry.

Beth

asleitch · January 19, 2005, 04:22:29 AM

Quote from: filmmlifsome friends have feral bees in their wall. they've been there since last summer and now they want them out. i would like to hive them. this week it's going to be in the mid 60's during the day, 40's at night. too cold to hive them? or with the cooler weather would they be less active and maybe easier to remove. i won't do it if it's below 60...i don't want to kill any brood i might remove.
any ideas out there?

If you remove them, you ought to do it at a time of year where, should you accidently squish the queen, that they could raise a new queen, and their would be enough drones about on her mating flight to fully sustain her with semen. Although it may be warm enough for bees to be flying, if it's winter, their will not be any drones available. It would be impossible to tell if you had successfully recovered the queen. A virgin queen "goes stale" about 30 days after hatching, if she hasn't mated. Early in the season, the cool temeperatures, and lack of drones means this would be a certanty. Also, the colony would not have sufficient excess to raise a queen.

I'd wait until a time of year when the drones are active

Adam

Anonymous · January 19, 2005, 02:38:58 PM

At this time of year, even in Texas, there should be very little if any brood to be concerned with. The main concern should be to assure a safe capture of the queen and the most careful removal of the honey containing comb. If you can't remove enough comb containing honey and pollen then you will have to feed the colony until there is enough forage available for them to provide for themselves.

hiving feral bees in cold weather

Anonymous