Bees in a tree

[tom8400]

Hi all

Yes I'm new to it all but read up on bees and read things on here,but due to cost I haven't got any bees yet.
however I have now discovered for the second year running I have some in the bottom of a dead tree. Which is quite nice, the trouble is the tree is not in best of shape and in a area that floods so they must be high up inside, even though they go in low down.


So question

Would a wild colony be ok? Perhaps a bit more aggressive.

Could I get them out of the tree and into a hive without removing the tree? Or could I position a hive or box near the tree to tempt them?


Or should I just leave them too it nature do its thing

Any ideas?

 

[justsmith]

Personaly i would contact you local group and see what advise and help they can offer you, as that would be a very difficult cut out.

You could put out a bait hive incase they swarm but i think you would be best to let nature do it's thing with them.

 

[Vortex]

Most associations run swarm lists .. lists of people who want swarms.. the association swarm collectors (also often on the BBKA list) then provide swarms they don't want to the list on a first come (ie answer their phone) first server basis.

 

[MartinL]

Hi all


Would a wild colony be ok? ?

Why not, All bees are essentially "Wild"

Perhaps a bit more aggressive?

At first & especially when/if you cut the tree down!!!

Could I get them out of the tree and into a hive without removing the tree?

You could certainly try & persuade them. What's the entrance like? You could do a trap out but that would starve off the original colony.
Similarly you could link a box to the entrance so they have to pass through it to get into the tree. You have all the time in the world to get it set up & running.

could I position a hive or box near the tree to tempt them?

A swarm lure? Better a good distance up the tree, with the usual lemongrass oil or fleabay procured vials?

should I just leave them too it nature do its thing?

Leaving them to "do there thing ain't going to get you any bees in a hive!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You could certainly try & persuade them. What's the entrance like? You could do a trap out but that would starve off the original colony.
Similarly you could link a box to the entrance so they have to pass through it to get into the tree. You have all the time in the world to get it set up & running.

With trapouts and the like you will probably end up with a queenless colony of bees resulting in the demise of the whole feral colony - cutting them out is not for the faint heated and definitely not for the beginner.
My feeling is you have a long long way to go before being ready to take on your own colony - reading and 'tinternet can only take you so far. My advice - join your local association - you are probably too late now for a beginner's course but they will still give you some practical hands on experience together with help and mentoring with your bees when you get them.
They might even get you a free swarm.

 

[enrico]

Please don't think I am patronising but are you sure they are honey bees? It's just that you say for the second year running. Did they go away and come back again or have they been there for two years? There are tree bees that will live in trees in a colony but they are a strain of bumble bee. I appreciate they wouldn't have set up home yet this year, just wanted to make sure! Sorry if you think I think you don't know what you are talking about, that really isn't the case, but we have had confusion on here before. Best of luck if they are honey bees. E

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

 

[Robbo8916]

Me too

 

[Poly Hive]

Assuming they are indeed honey bees then an adjacent bait hive may well prove lucky.

My last site had a bee tree and they gave me a swarm s far as I could tell every year.

There were bees on an allotment some 500 yds away and one happy day I had three swarms move into my piles of spare boxes. One I suspect was from the tree but prove it? No chance.

PH

 

[alfazer]

For me, it would seem a bit of a shame if someone tried to cut a colony of bees out of a tree, their natural habitat. Unless of course a half rotten tree is potentially going to be dangerous to someone.
I'd be going to bait hive route and leave the tree alone.

 

[Zante]

Please forgive me, I am the most inexperienced so far in this thread, not having had any bees yet, (and anyone else, please correct me if I'm wrong), but assuming they are indeed honey bees, what I would do in your situation is to set up a bait hive.
From what I understand, if the forage is good it's not a question of if they'll swarm, but when, since nobody is managing the hive.

Now... since I don't have any experience keeping bees, I wouldn't keep any captured swarms, but would hand them out to anyone in the beekeeping association who may have lost colonies in the winter. This way you can start networking with the local beekeepers and maybe get a grateful mentor to help you start learning.

If the colony is still there when you're ready to keep bees you can keep the next swarm and start managing your colonies.

 

[misterbee82]

You could have a more experienced bee keeper with your local club come out and help extract them. Some times it is a free service, and other times depending on the difficulty level of the extraction it could have a cost associated with it. Out of curiosity how many feet off the ground is this hive?

 

[tom8400]

Well I don't plan to cut the tree down, it's just a matter of time before it falls down.

Thank you for the constructive replies. I plan to build a few boxes and hope I may get lucky, I think that's the best option.

As I don't want to destroy the colony, but if they could be encouraged into a hive it would be a good thing. I will be sure to post the outcome.

The hole is about 1 1/2 ft from ground level perfect height

 

[blacksheep]

Just leave them alone for now and when you learn more about the bees you can always get a swarm off them with the Queen!I do Trap outs and cut outs as well and they are some times not a joy to do.Make a swarm trap and get the bees with a queen she will probably be a older queen but still better than none!Bees can raise their own queens but need fresh eggs to do so.

 

[JWF]

We had a colony in a tree at work last year. When the weather turned bad in September it was clear there wasn't actually enough room inside the tree for all the bees, with a beard of sorry looking bees sitting in the rain underneath the entrance.

I plonked a spare hive down around 10m away, scooped a few of the bees into to box, and within a few days the entire colony had absconded and moved into my hive, with the queen in lay pretty quickly. They then robbed the stores from their original nest and transferred them into their new home.

I guess they made a judgement call as to whether they wanted to stay in their old place or fancied a new des res!