Re-housing wild colony now

[thebhoy]

when using the P***** poly nuc you could close the opening and bring it indoors for a while with the feed, heat and additional frames of foundation or drawn supers cut and perhaps rubber bands to hold in place.
This would give them a chance to regroup, assess the damage and rebuild in comfort ...you could take them outside on days when your other bees are flying so they can have a clean out bringing them back in at night.

Just a thought

 

[pargyle]

when using the P***** poly nuc you could close the opening and bring it indoors for a while with the feed, heat and additional frames of foundation or drawn supers cut and perhaps rubber bands to hold in place.
This would give them a chance to regroup, assess the damage and rebuild in comfort ...you could take them outside on days when your other bees are flying so they can have a clean out bringing them back in at night.

Just a thought

Hmmmm ... that would be reasonable grounds for divorce in our house !!

 

[sainfoin]

Hi, buy her a new compost bin, take that one home and wrap in a water tank jacket. Drill hole for entrance put lagging over the lid and offer good luck vibes!

 

[itma]

I got a call from a lady in the village yesterday who had found a colony in a compost bin in her garden. ...

Hi, buy her a new compost bin, take that one home and wrap in a water tank jacket. Drill hole for entrance put lagging over the lid and offer good luck vibes!

Unless this village is really big (3+ miles), I think that may not be the best of ideas ...

After it gets a bit colder, and the colony has been confined to base for a couple of weeks, -then- you could hope to get off with a direct move of less than 3 miles.

As it is, the last thing you want to be doing is depleting the colony strength when their biggest task is still ahead of them.
And if ANY of them were to head back to the lady's garden, you'll be depleting the colony.


Move the compost bin aside, put the nuc on ihe old colony location and shift across as much comb as you can. Provide either salvaged stores comb bits or fondant as feed from day 1.
If the lady wants them moved asap (why? - she hasn't used her compost bin much for the last few months) then they'd have to go well away before coming back to you (assuming that you are reasonably close).
Frankly, such a move isn't going to help the bees - they'll have enough disruption with the new interior layout.



Incidentally - the salvaged comb - put any brood or empty drawn 'framed' comb towards the middle of your nuc. Initially foundation on the outside. That should be the easiest arrangement for them to establish on. Once they have settled in, you can assess what you've got and go from there.


Small point, maybe obvious, maybe not, so worth a mention.
When framing the cut comb, try and preserve its orientation - hang it the right way up! Better to put two small bits jammed right way up in a frame than one bigger bit at the wrong orientation. Makes it easier for the bees. They can cope with trees falling over and their nest being turned by random angles, but it means a lot of rebuilding that you are hoping they can avoid at this time of year.

 

[VEG]

Dont forget that they will get some heat from the stuff decomposing in the compost bin, have you ever put your hand into one they can be very hot even in mid winter. There doesnt seem to be many bees in there that I can see from the picture.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

when using the P***** poly nuc you could close the opening and bring it indoors for a while with the feed, heat and additional frames of foundation or drawn supers cut and perhaps rubber bands to hold in place.
This would give them a chance to regroup, assess the damage and rebuild in comfort ...you could take them outside on days when your other bees are flying so they can have a clean out bringing them back in at night.

Just a thought

Hmmmm ... that would be reasonable grounds for divorce in our house !!

Hmmmm - just wondering whether to put the nuc in the dining room or the study.

 

[sainfoin]

I would never argue with Itma who always seems to give good advice, indeed I have made use of it secondhand often but....although we all take the 3mile rule as a given, and that includes me, my swarm bees didn't take any notice.
As the crow flies I think it would be between 1 and 1 1/2mls from the compost bin they were in in July and their now home in a smart new National. They moved in from their poly nuc within a week and have been a wonderful colony ever since. I was surprised and very relieved that they did stay.

 

[pargyle]

Hmmmm - just wondering whether to put the nuc in the dining room or the study.

Best in the dining room and hide it under the table !! And be prepared for recriminations !!!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Best in the dining room and hide it under the table !! And be prepared for recriminations !!!

But hiding it could mean she doesn't find it and missing the desired outcome

It's like being sent to Coventry - the best bit is as she isn't talking to you she can't nag!
But back on topic - can't help but agree with itma's last post

 

[WingCommander]

Operation, Phase 1, complete.

I laid a sheet down next to the bin - I couldn't physically lift it away as it was the type that opens direct to the ground so would have resulted in dumping the contents. The colony was larger than I first realised - I would say at least as many bees as in my brood box and very convoluted.

I managed to frame up 3 brood sections from the contents of the bin although it was very challenging as it was wild comb, interwoven with twigs, leaves and other detritus so noting flat and easy to use, except the bits round the sides. We then brushed as many bees as we could into the NUC. I did not see the queen but given the chaos in and out of the bin it would have been difficult to spot her. The NUC now has 3 frames of stores from the bin, there was almost no brood visible what I saw I managed to retrieve.

I then tried to transfer as many bees as possible to the NUC, by hand, brushing etc. I then sealed the bin and placed the NUC on top. It also has 3 frames of crystalised stores.

I left the broken bits of frame on top of another bin about 3 metres away. My plan tomorrow, when they have calmed down, is to physically relocated the bin itself, but leave the contents where they are. I will put the NUC on a stool/ladder/workmate, to keep the entrance at the same height and hope that those bees left in the bin when I sealed it now relocate.

I have no idea if this is going to work. Moving in the spring may have been easier but I still think finding the queen in a colony built in a bin filled with sticks (they were throughout the comb) would be just as challenging, the big difference I suppose is that they could perhaps have reared a new queen which is unlikely now.

I feel strangely proud at what I have achieved and would be 1000 times more proud if it actually works!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Keep us posted wingco.
Sorry I haven't anything constructive to add but hope and crossed fingers

 

[ianorsven]

Respect. Good work, Winco.

 

[Excession]

Couldn't you have replaced the compost bin lid with a brood box (no floor) and the salvaged comb in frames in that and let the bees move themselves up overnight?

Increases your chances of the queen being saved...

 

[WingCommander]

Excession - a. I didn't have a brood box. b. I wanted to act relatively fast as the colony had been badly disturbed and damaged so was using the tools I had to hand. c. Due to be close to freezing tonight and given the round bin square brood box scenario not convinced it would have worked....

Interesting idea though

 

[enrico]

If it works or not you are a hero for trying .... Well done
E

 

[Jimmys Mum]

Do let us know if they survive. Fingers crossed!

 

[itma]

If it works or not you are a hero for trying .... Well done
E

I'm going to agree with enrico again... really!

 

[BeeJayBee]

we all take the 3mile rule as a given, and that includes me, my swarm bees didn't take any notice.

Natural swarms behave differently from artificially split or moved colonies.

I feel strangely proud at what I have achieved and would be 1000 times more proud if it actually works!

I think you should be proud of what you've done. It's fantastic.

you are a hero for trying ....

As a Wing Commander he should be used to being a hero

But seriously, I agree with you. That makes more than the usual complement of beekeepers in agreement. Is this a record?

 

[itma]

Moving "swarms".
The act of swarming (for real) does a reset on the homing memory, and for a few days after swarming, the colony can be easily relocated.
In fact, they sometimes relocate the whole swarm themselves, whether naturally "moving on" or as the beek would say - "absconding".
After a few days, the memory of the new home develops and thats where they would go back to if they can find their way through known territory.

This lot had been in the bin for long enough to draw a quantity of comb -- that's where they think is 'home', and given the chance, where they would return to.




Practicality of shifting the compost bin.
It may be possible to tip it, undercut with a spade, and slide in a tarp and/or a bit of board. Once you have something under it, you'll stand a much better chance of shifting it a few yards away, so that the bees must make a definite choice between the nuc and the bin.
Once the bin has been moved, the flying bees should migrate to the nuc, and having fewer bees in your face, it should be easier to continue the salvage work on the bin ...

 

[WingCommander]

So next question.

It's been a few days now - should I inspect the colony in the NUC or simply move it? It's a nice day but cold so am I just going to do more damage?