Hi, just looking for some advice please. Neighbours house is vacant and noticed hive where back door is boarded up. The council got beekeeper to remove the hive safely without destroying it today, but there were bees left: They said that they would just leave but I think they are creating new colony. The queen was removed today, is it likely that they are priming new queen and staying at this hive. Looks like a big group of them are still here:35,000 were removed today! I don't know whether or not to get in touch with council again or not. The hive is 30feet from my back door, so a bit close for comfort! Thanks for any help given!
hive removal?
- Thread starter louise051
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Not a hive - just a swarm. the clolony (with queen) would have been removed yesterday - these are just the stragglers that were out scouting and which the beekeeper didn't wait around for their return.
They can't make a new queen so they will eventually either drift away or chill and die.
Tomorrow when they are out and about flying just spray a bit of air freshener around where the main swarm settled
They can't make a new queen so they will eventually either drift away or chill and die.
Tomorrow when they are out and about flying just spray a bit of air freshener around where the main swarm settled
itma
Queen Bee
"Hive" = box, usually wood, made for bees to live in
"Colony" = group of bees, needs a Queen to be viable
"Swarm" = new colony, split off from an older one, on their way to a new home, most easily dealt with while they re-group as a cluster (often hanging from a branch)
Because of the terminology confusion, I'm not certain what your problem is.
I think it sounds as though a swarm clustered on the boarded-up door, and a beekeeper collected them within a few hours.
Best practice for swarm collection is to wait until evening before actually removing the bees from site - that way NO stragglers should be left behind.
It sounds as though that was not done.
If that is the case, complain to the beekeeper who did the collection that he did it poorly.
Not at all sure what your concern might be about comb.
It takes bees more than a few hours to produce any appreciable amount of wax.
As above, a perfumed spray will mask where the swarm re-grouped and prevent that spot being specially attractive to the stragglers, which will then disperse and likely die off.
Things would be a bit different if there had been a colony living in the boarded-up property for months or years. Is that the case?
"Colony" = group of bees, needs a Queen to be viable
"Swarm" = new colony, split off from an older one, on their way to a new home, most easily dealt with while they re-group as a cluster (often hanging from a branch)
Because of the terminology confusion, I'm not certain what your problem is.
I think it sounds as though a swarm clustered on the boarded-up door, and a beekeeper collected them within a few hours.
Best practice for swarm collection is to wait until evening before actually removing the bees from site - that way NO stragglers should be left behind.
It sounds as though that was not done.
If that is the case, complain to the beekeeper who did the collection that he did it poorly.
Not at all sure what your concern might be about comb.
It takes bees more than a few hours to produce any appreciable amount of wax.
As above, a perfumed spray will mask where the swarm re-grouped and prevent that spot being specially attractive to the stragglers, which will then disperse and likely die off.
Things would be a bit different if there had been a colony living in the boarded-up property for months or years. Is that the case?
BeeJayBee
Queen Bee
It may be best practice, but sometimes it isn't possible even though it may cause problems such as the one highlighted by this thread. It's also possible that another swarm has been attracted to old pheromones, I've seen that twice this year within 24 hours of taking a swarm.
To be fair, this year most volunteer swarm collectors have been very busy, with some collecting two or three swarms a day. Then they have to find somebody to take them.
Surely it's better to be grateful they've turned up at all, than encourage people to tell them they've done it wrong?
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and there's always the chance they'll be off again. Caught a swarm in my garden hedge Friday - thought I'd leave it a while to settle before hiving it (was trying to do three jobs at once that afternoon) after finally saying hello to SWMBO (I'd been away training since Tuesday) I walked up the garden just in time to see said swarm flying over my neighbour's hedge!
My problem is bees! I am sorry that I dont understand all of the terminology, there is honeycomb on the ground that must have broken off, so obviously this was a colony. The bees are still here and very active! I cannot get close enough to spray with anything!!
I dont know much about bees, but it does look likely that another swarm has moved in.
I dont know much about bees, but it does look likely that another swarm has moved in.
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How long were the bees there before you called the council?
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And they were just in a big cluster hanging off something?
No, they were behind a boarded up door, between the boarding and the back door of the house. I have looked up swarms and this was not a swarm! It was a colony, after producing 2-3 feet of comb apparently. The beekeeper had a square shaped box and he said he got most of them, the queen included! But I think there are huge amounts of bees left and am concerned that they have made a new queen and are staying put!! I am reading very conflicting information online: some say that they will make new queen if she leaves or dies, others say they will move on! Whatever the case, I am still living next door to a lot of bees!!!
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Right, so now we have established there was a colony there - very doubtful they would make a new queen unless the beekeeper left a load of brood comb with eggs there. Sounds like a bit of a cowboy anyway - call the council again to get him back.
Sounds to me as if he just took the brood nest and left some honey stores behind and the bees you are seeing are just helping themselves to some free scoff. Regardless, very slipshod practice IMHO
Sounds to me as if he just took the brood nest and left some honey stores behind and the bees you are seeing are just helping themselves to some free scoff. Regardless, very slipshod practice IMHO
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itma
Queen Bee
1/ It takes three weeks to produce a new Queen.
2/ It takes a long time (months?) to produce combs 2 to 3 feet long. They were there for a while (and didn't cause you to notice them!)
3/ Bees without a Queen will be more tetchy. So, yes, its best that you don't go annoying them.
4/ Whether for collecting a "cut-out" as here, or a swarm, it is simply bad practice to take the hive (containing the queen and bees) off-site before evening. It is guaranteed to result in the public nuisance of a number of lost, queenless bees searching fruitlessly for their lost family.
With Q known to be present in the box, the remaining bees would definitely join her by the end of the day - if given the chance. Allowing worker bees in while preventing the Queen leaving is easily done with a standard bit of beekeeping kit.
5/ Sealing up (beeproof) or cleaning out (scrape and perfume) the colony's old home would help to prevent an entirely new swarm choosing to move into the (attractive to bees) second-hand residence.
But disease isn't really so much of a concern. Not least because humans cannot catch bee diseases. Nevertheless, any beekeeper concerned about bee health shouldn't be knowingly leaving bits of comb about the place. "Could try harder" - as the school reports used to say.
