Hive upset

[BeeMog]

OK, so after getting my colony at the end of June and building up quite nicely I found this sad state of affairs this last Saturday morning (see picture)

I'm reasonably sure it was an accident while my host farmer was cutting close to fences to control the overgrowth that was developing - I don't think sheep are strong enough to have dragged a wooden trestle 30' away!

I calmly picked everything up and reset and the bees seemed OK although I could find no eggs. There was larvae through the brood frames though. I think it may have been open to the rain on Friday night but the roof didn't seem to be full enough of water to have been open much longer than that. There was't many flying bees around, mainly nursery.

I've been feeding with 1:1 to help them establish but had actually luckily made up a 2:1 mix last week so hopefully that will have helped hem put things right - what do you think?

 

[Greggorio]

Surely the farmer would have noticed grabbing a trestle and pulling it 30 feet as well though? Have you got your hive fenced off from sheep and the farmer?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

 

[Tremyfro]

Are farmers cutting hedges? I would think they are mainly harvesting. The hedges are still heavy with foliage so most don't cut until much later. How strange.

 

[dexter's shed]

accident or not, I wouldn't be leaving one of my hives there again.

having a hive at the side of a field is not what I'd want, I'd want a sectioned off area, as above, netted off from animals and farm machinery, it's also a good reason to strap hives together, rachet straps even better, when you have an out apiary and cant be there daily, had it been strapped, It would most probably had eggs

 

[Egon]

Could be deer or badger knocking it over, you need to fence it off.

dave

 

[drex]

Are you using the trestle as a stand then?

 

[beeno]

I would be more inclined to think someone was trying to steal it and it fell apart as they were carrying it.

 

[andyphibb]

The hedge hasn't been cut in the background by the look of it, Is that your hive stand by the hive? If so doesn't look up to the job to me.

 

[Millet]

To me looking at that stand and the way the hive is positioned on the floor the hive has toppled of on it's own accord..if it had been dragged any distance surely they would be part's of the hive scattered every where..puzzled..?

 

[Hawklord]

I had a similar problem a few years ago where my hives were tipped over by some drunks. Because my queens weren't clipped they all swarmed.

 

[Hachi]

I doubt very much this is the work of animals, especially as it all seems to still be together in the same location. Animals tend to just knock them over not move them 30'. Also, the majority of frames, whilst upside down, are still in the BB.

I would suggest it was someone not something that did this. Had farm machinery been involved after 30' it would be matchsticks.

 

[wessexmario]

If that picture is exactly how you found it, then there's no way it's been dragged 30' by animals or machinery.
Someone has carried that and dropped it (probably when the bees started to object. )
The absence of any impact marks on the kit, and checking the ground around where the stand used to be will prove it. If there are no impact marks on the kit, and there are indentations where the legs used to stand but no scuff marks or disturbed ground/vegetation around them, then it was lifted and carried.

I'd be more concerned about felons than the farmer.

 

[BeeMog]

Perhaps I didn't explain well

Oh dear. My first post seems ambiguous

Ok so the hive is on two trestles. One was dragged away and the hive fell. The hedge wasn't cut but the grass up to the fence was. There was no damage done and on my check this weekend my queen was laying and all the syrup was taken down for stores.

Hopefully it will be an isolated incident but no harm done this time.

 

[YorkshireBees]

I always use hive straps and never lost a hive despite a few being blown over in winter storms!

 

[dexter's shed]

the hive is on two trestles.

I'd recommend replacing trestles with a one piece stand, better safe than sorry on it happening a second time