How do I remove a Colony from a Tree ?

[ROACHMAN]

I went down to the river which as about 200 yards from my house this afternoon.

I noticed that there were a number of bees going in and out of a 2 inch hole in the trunk of an old willow tree. They were about 10 feet up.

I went back to the house and grabbed my bee suit and a ladder and went back to the tree.

I poked a stick down the hole and it went in about a foot. I noticed that some of the bees were bringing in pollen so am assuming that they must have been there for a number of weeks ??

Is there any way of extracting the colony from the tree, the tree trunk as about 4 feet wide so no chance of cutting it down .

I would like to re home them as they will eventually die to disease or varroa and you can never have enough bees !!

 

[xgeordie]

I would like to re home them as they will eventually die to disease or varroa and you can never have enough bees !!

You will think otherwise when all your hives are in use and your bank account is empty!

 

[MrB]

You will think otherwise when all your hives are in use and your bank account is empty!

Very true!!!

 

[Chris Luck]

I'm sure they are very happy where they are, loads of feral colonies round my area and of course they will eventually "die out" but that's natural and usually due to Queen failure of one sort or another either in winter or following swarming and may not happen for many years.

Just be happy for them.

Chris

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Have a look at this thread

 

[Tom Bick]

It sounds very nice I recommend regular walks and be happy observing the bees.

 

[Steve Dyer]

I'm sure they are very happy where they are, loads of feral colonies round my area and of course they will eventually "die out" but that's natural and usually due to Queen failure of one sort or another either in winter or following swarming and may not happen for many years.

Just be happy for them.

Chris

I know a few feral colonies that do jolly well and show no signs of dying out through varroa. I'm sure some do, and maybe swarms come in after they have died and look as though they have been there all the time.

Steve

 

[justme]

Have a look at this thread

Sorry? What thread?

Having said that a beek colleague down here showed us how to set up a way of (eventually) getting the colony out. Not always the queen though.

Fix a nuc box or similar very close to the entrance. Either place a 1 way entrance or exit actually, over the current entrance and the returning bees should /may go into the box instead. Especially if you put an old brood comb in.

OR
Make a clear plastic tube, a roller blind box pilfered from recycling works well, fix it over the original entrance and fix the other end over a 1 way escape into the nuc box, you'll need to make an opening for this.
Exiting bees from the tree will have to pass through the nuc box to get out but will only be able to back into the nuc box via the entrance.
Some success has been had with the queen also exiting when she runs out of 'help'' in the tree/wall/inaccessable roof cavity etc.
Depending on how long the bees have been there they could be out in a very few days or upto about 8-10 weeks.

 

[sugarbush]

A feral colony could live for years in a tree un-managed by man. My advice would be to keep a bait hive near by and hope to catch a cast off.

Trap out like described above is possible, but most often the queen is lost and a colony of bees isn't much good without a queen.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Trap out like described above is possible, but most often the queen is lost and a colony of bees isn't much good without a queen.

But you could give them a frame of brood and let them raise a top quality scrub queen,or buy a crap one from a breeder and give them.

 

[sugarbush]

Trap out like described above is possible, but most often the queen is lost and a colony of bees isn't much good without a queen.

But you could give them a frame of brood and let them raise a top quality scrub queen,or buy a crap one from a breeder and give them.

For me; if you don't get their genetics out of the deal you are gaining nothing of value. All you are gaining is a 6 week work force and then a split of a hive you already own. It is easier to leave them in the tree and just split a few frames out of a hive you already have.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I agree,leave them in the tree, and fill the hole with expanding foam.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

sorry justme had a problem pasting the link (Called me being daft!)
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12237&highlight=bees+tree
if this doesn't work search for 'trapping bees from tree' in titles

 

[Andre cardona]

let them bee

 

[ROACHMAN]

Ive decided to leave them. It ill be interesting to see how they fare without human intervention