few dying bees at my bait hive.

[biglongdarren]

i put a bait hive up a few days ago and today there was a few dozen bees showing some interest in it,i splashed some lemongrass oil on the top of the frames and put a few old manky frames in also,alot of the bees that were flying around the hive were mostly staying to the back of the hive and trying to get in that way,the bait hive is placed on a shed roof and on the roof at the back of the hive there was two dead bees and two more nearly dead crawling away,for a while some bees were fighting with the half dead ones...i have a video and will put it up shorty..any ideas?
Darren

 

[biglongdarren]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NNBPldhfIE[/ame]

 

[jimmybee]

Hi darren, i had this also a few days before the swarm came, it may be others bees checking out your bait hive as well. jim

 

[alynewbee]

Hi Darren,
Good luck with your bait hive, I've got one out and it is attracting some interest but no swarm yet. I've got a flat garage roof just begging me to put a bait hive on it, but I'm worried about how to get it down again after hopefully the ladies have moved in? How are you planning to do it? I've got wooden hives - very heavy.
Aly

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I had exactly the same thing Darren - bait hive on shed roof, lemongrass oil and a few dead / dying bees at the entrance. It was early morning so I assumed that they had maybe got caught out overnight and were dying from cold - just a guess though, I could be completely wide of the mark!

 

[biglongdarren]

hey alynewbee the hive am using is a very old and heavy hive also,the roof is on is only about eight foot off the ground so if a swarm comes to it i'll let them move,with the way i have the hive sitting up i can get a roll of duck tape under it so on the evening they move in i will lift the roof off and duck tape the floor,brood box and crown board all together and then lift it off and move them to a new location,i can get to it all easy enough with a set of steps...this is my plan anyway,as you can see with the video it is right along a main road and i live in a housing estate so if it all works out like this it'll be a miricle;o)...good luck with your own and i'll keep ye's all posted.
Darren.

 

[alynewbee]

Fab Darren, hope it all goes well, think you've encouraged me to bung a bait hive up on the roof.

Aly

 

[biglongdarren]

as long as your fit and able to get it down easy why not,you any old stinky manky frames to go in it?

 

[victor meldrew]

Honey bees fight and not just protecting the colony !
I put some comb containing uncapped drone brood out for the birds .
At home , no where near the apiary . After a while the odd bee arrived to take advantage of anything going ! I was watching a bee with it's head in a cell ,when another bee arrived, poked around a little ,then pounced on the bee with it's head in a cell! A scrap ensued which ended with one bee flying off and the other mortally wounded . Poor bu**er wandered around dragging it's rear pair of legs until it finally succumbed to the full effect of the stinging it got! RIP!
This fighting certainly occurs at potential homes for swarms and I have seen foragers bounce other foragers off individual flowers when there has been an abundance of the same variety of blossom around !

John Wilkinson

 

[alynewbee]

Hi Darren, fraid not, absolute newbee with only foundation to offer the girls. Man, the bees are fussy around here! Still no one wants to move in and far fewer scouts yesterday than the day before. Feeling glum and impatient.

 

[biglongdarren]

do you not know any other beekeepers that could give you a few old frames?saying as there for a good cause like i cant see why they wouldnt give you them...

 

[alynewbee]

You're right, went to another of my course practical sessions yesterday, wish I'd asked then. Thanks again Darren.

 

[alynewbee]

Yay! I am a beekeeper at last. Not my bait hive though, I had my name on the swarm list of my BKA and one became available today. It was a big one, but I'm a bit nervous as I had a swarm before which absconded after 18 hours or so much to the dismay of my neighbour. Hope I'm more successful with this one.

 

[MuswellMetro]

i suspect it is two separate colonies robbing the last bits of honey left in the brood frame

i have two colonies near my bait hive in my garden, one brown bee and one black bee, so i can see just as your biat hive dead bees at the entrance,

currently the black bees are winning and are killing the brown bees but both are trying to rob out a few cells on honey in the bait hive