Supplying cavities for feral swarms?

[Intheswamp]

uglyfrozenfish posted an interesting thread titled "Increasing Feral Colonies in undeveloped areas".  I didn't want to hijack that thread (which I naturally have my own thoughts about :) ) but it did make me think of something else...

This coming year I'm going to be too busy trying to get my bee yard established and setting out some swarm traps (for increase) to work on the following, but I thought I would pose it and see what ya'll think.  There may already be a thread about this somewhere...if so, point me to it, please. :)  

Here goes...

In regards to promoting/increasing the number of feral colonies would it be a bad thing to offer permanently located man-made cavities for swarms to colonize?  What I have seen down here in south Alabama over the last 40 years has been a wholesale clear-cutting of old growth hardwoods.  Probably millions of acres (no kidding) of hardwood timber have been clear-cut...most of this by large paper companies.  Most of the time the big old knarly trees that were good bee trees were just pushed to the side and burned...not good trees for processing. :(  In the place of those old trees were planted plantation pine trees...basically only good for pulpwood, the building material that comes from them is substandard.  Few of these pine trees will ever make bee trees.  

Don't get me wrong, there are some hardwood stands left...it isn't a complete scalping, but it's rather intense...especially down my way in the southern part of the state.  By law (supposedly) a strip 100' wide along the creeks and rivers has to be left and un-cut...yeah, right.

Anyhow, what about installing permanent man-made cavities in remote areas for any feral swarms that may come around to colonize?  Sure, a swarm from a beek's yard could colonize it, so be it.  But, a feral colony could, also.  Whatever moved in would have to "do or die", just as any swarm would have to do in the wild...whether it is feral or from a bee yard.

Size, specifications, building material, placement, etc., would all have to be figured out.  But, would this be a valid project?  Would it be legal?  Would each hive have to be registered being as it would be it's lone apiary/bee-yard?  Would it have to be accessible for inspection?

Of course, it will be said that this will give AHB a Hotel-6 to check into when they get here.  Yeah, but the best defense for us is a strong offense...already having a strong population of bees in the area to dilute the AHB gene pool could only be a good thing.  We just can't stand here, wring our hands, and say "Woe is me!", ya know.

So, would offering cavities in remote areas in hopes of enticing feral bees to set up housekeeping in them be a good idea?   As a colony is established other cavities could be supplied to the area for subsequent swarms.

Pipe dream?  Wishful thinking?  Too much time on my hands?

Ed

[Michael Bush]

Why not provide some hives for them to live in...?

[Intheswamp]

I understand where you're coming from, Michael.  And I fully intend to put any that I catch this coming season in hives (and maybe the next season, too!).

What I'm thinking about, though, is a way of encouraging an increase in the number of local feral colonies...colonies that haven't had the manipulation/treatment of man and are survivors.  I understand that by simply supplying a cavity that we are "treating" them to a degree...but we also "treated" them when we cut down many of the old bee trees.  I dunno, maybe I'm looking down the road a piece and trying to figure out what might help the bees?  Kind of like putting up nestboxes for ducks or purple martin gourds or woodpecker houses...just a bit different in that I would be shooting for better survivor traits in the bees.

Maybe it's just a crazy idea?  That's why I made the post...for feedback. ;)

Ed

[windfall]

the proliferation of woodduck boxes over the years have done wonders for their numbers. But I don't know if good available cavities is a limiting factor for wild bees.

[Hemlock]

►First the man made bee cavities;
Well, get a ladder, some woods, and a bark stripping tool.  Take a walk.  stop every 100 yards or so and strip the bark off a yellow poplar or water oak 10 feet up or more.  Remove the bark in a 2 - 3 foot strip for a ¼ of the circumference around the tree.  make the strip right below a 2- 3 inch limb.  Girdle the limb too.

The exposed wood will die.  The tree will heal over the wound and the limb.  The dead wood underneath will rot away leaving a cavity.  The limb will die and rot away leaving a entrance hole.  Something will make use of this.  Some day.  in the future.  maybe...

Lower density juvenile hardwoods can grow around 1 inch a year in circumference down by you.  Do it this year you could have functional cavities in 10 years.  

It might not be a crazy idea since beeks are usually crazy anyway.


►Second the forestry thing;
you better believe that 100 foot strip is maintained on 'company' land.  The GOV rakes business over the coals if it isn't and they check!  Now when farmer Zeek sells the wood off his private 50 acre lot to Jr. & Sons logging all bets are off.  Both of them are too small for GOV to spend to much time on.

The wood off the paper company's land isn't substandard.  The pulp is made into packaging to wrap everything in the store you buy.  Unless you want everything wrapped in plastic?  The lumber is the same stuff your house is built out of.  If you want to build your house out of stone, steel, cement, plastic, or Hardwood go ahead no ones stopping you.  The cost might but if you got the cash...