Bee shifting...

Discussion in 'Breeding, Raising, Feeding and Caring for Animals' started by pal, Jan 11, 2011.

  1. pal

    pal Junior Member

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    Hi folks,

    Have a bit of problem, trying to figure out if it is practical to try turning it into an opportunity.

    I have a block of land 1.5 hours drive away. Get there when I can, but not very often (at least, not yet!). On the block is an old caravan, in which a swarm of bees has decided to set up shop - commandeering a set of cupboards that they accesses through a small hole in the floor.

    The problem, is that my lovely wife is seriously allergic to bee stings, and that van is our accommodation while at the block.

    Is there a known way I can encourage the bees to move on - perhaps by providing a more enticing accommodation for them in a location less problematic to our sleeping arrangements.

    If so, would it be practical for such accommodation to also maintain intermittent access to a honey supply?

    Thanks in anticipation,

    Pal
     
  2. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

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    If the cupboard is not necessary to you then create access from the outside and seal off the cupboard from within. Seems to me that it would be easy to harvest the honey for the cupboard but give the missus a day at the movies.

    Shifting is not so hard either if you have good access to the hive then you just need to scrape the comb from the top and carve it into frame sized shapes, wire the comb into frames and return to the box.

    Be sure you look after the queen and the bees will follow her
     
  3. kimbo.parker

    kimbo.parker Junior Member

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    'whistle' the queen out of the hive

    no.no.no.

    you are talking of a wild hive, not a swarm.

    a wild hive with wild comb

    and you are not a bee-keeper with the expensive pollination suit,gloves and smoker? (else you would not be asking;))

    the chances of an inexperienced person invading a wild hive to capture the queen and thus exert compliance from the hive are ZERO!!!

    the chances of an experienced apiarist doing the same are very slim.

    nothing 'lifts out' of a wild hive
    cutting comb causes a mass leak of honey.

    honey liberated into a hive is a frgn nightmare !! a sticky mess of drowning bees all putting out distress and alarm.
    the hive becomes a seething nightmare of bee alarm pheromones.

    at this point an experienced bee keeper backs off.

    beestings can go through the proper gloves and overalls....the sting works its way through the layers by a mechanism independent of the bee....therefore, time is important. If your protective gear cops it, there is a margin before the stings get through your skin.

    the operation of a bee keeper avoids stings and notes timing.


    if you want the caravan, toss in a chemical fumigant ( dichlorvos?) and bolt. ....later clean out dead bees, cut out and burn hive combs, wash with hot water.

    there is a slight chance; that if you put a flushing chemical ( possibly available at a apiary supply shop ),,,,that the bees might choose to abandon the hive.
    this is very desirable because they will attempt a swarm and take the honey.

    environment is critical - temperature, wind , humidity.

    the chances are slim.

    keep it simple.....kill them.

    if you want to play with bees, do it right with proper frames and boxes, and for that matter a good european queen.

    without the structure of a framed hive....bee spaces are chaotic mazes through a fat 3d space.....like a football.
    with the proper structure....we force the bees into a kind of 2d environment of flat panels.

    a swarm is different....one can handle a swarm, pick it up and hang it off your hat if you like....easy peasy.

    a hive is the opposite....bees willingly attack in defence of the hive...

    There is this notion that 'all one needs to do is catch the queen'.

    I am not a commercial producer, I am friends with commercial producers.
    we re-queen our hives regularly....we have all sorts of difficulty in identifying a queen, even when we have her in a variety of narrow focus's.

    We can have her on one frame and give up in despair.
    Consistently we have new queens in little cages of no more than 6 bees and we still have difficulty.

    The chances of any one identifying the queen amid thousands of bees are zero.
    If those bees are attacking you there is less than zero.
    If this is a wild hive and you have cut comb and have running honey.....way less than zero.

    so; funny how the story changes with who you talk to eh?

    just catch the queen and the bees will follow..................whilst i've been away, PP has clearly turned into a firebrand sadist......

    "some of the old timers can whistle out the queen"...
    the queen makes this whistling noise,,,it is quite loud and high pitched,,,NO ONE knows how she does this, or why,,,but some of the old timers reckon that it is a warning to other queens (possibly those incubating) and to the hive in general, as if to say...."I live, I'm Strong, create (feed) no other queen"

    so the old codgers stand outside the hive on a warm evening whistling the queen out....they reckon if you get the whistle right, she'll come out for a brief look on the hive landing.

    so i would suggest you just whistle at the cupboard and when she shows ("where's me fkn mars bar! - like"), you grab her....she can't sting....and the bees will follow you....

    too bloody right they will

    yakity yak
    kimbo
     
  4. Heather Formaini

    Heather Formaini Junior Member

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    Hello

    I think you need to talk to Timothy Malfroy of Malfroy's Gold.
    Tim's at Oberon in NSW.
    His e-mail address is: [email protected]
    I'm sure he'll be able to help you.

    Best wishes

    Heather
     
  5. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

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    If you believe that twattle pal then call the flick man.
    One thing Kimbo said that made any sense was that it is probably not a job for the inexperienced.
     
  6. hawkypork

    hawkypork Junior Member

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    Or if you are feeling brave; sneak up at night, pour in petrol and seal up the entrance. The colony will be dead in the morning.
     

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