Rehoming a colony from a barrel

[andybee102]

Hello Everyone. My name is Andy and just introducing myself. I live in MURCIA Province, Spain, and have kept hives for some years now.
I wonder if anyone can help please. I want to transfer a colony that has established itself in a medium sized wooden beer barrel. The comb is built into the walls of the barrel.The barrel is on its side with the top missing. I want to transfer to an empty brood box.
Any advice would be great.
Thanks.

 

[drstitson]

unless you are in part of spain that is very mild over winter i'd say best thing is to make a temporary new end to the barrel with entrance and leave til spring.

 

[andybee102]

Hello. Thank You for the reply. I rescued the Wooden Barrel from a call out. The temperatures here currently are 74 degrees F and in my experience will continue through til late December, where it is pretty much dry.There are at least 3 flows through the year.
I dont want to unnecessarily rupture the comb by disturbing the wooden sections of the barrel.
Is a good idea to smoke them so as to cause swarming, and to "funnel" the colony into the new Box?.

 

[newportbuzz]

sounds like you just got a mead starter kit. add water and yeast and away you go.

ahh no i mock, hope you manage to get them out. id wait till late spring tho.

 

[kighill]

Hello Andy,

If the bees are gentle or not so gentle you could try this.
Let them settle for a few days in the final location you have chosen. This will allow the bees to orientate themselves.
Move the barrel to one side 2 metres or so from original and place two new brood boxes, roof etc. onto the original chosen site, ensure this is full of new frames or/and some quality newly drawn comb.
The flying bees will return to your new brood box. The upper one of which will contain the frames etc and the bottom one which will be empty.
The barrel will now contain fewer bees making it easier to handle.

Use lots of smoke on the bees then gently remove the comb; keep an eye out for the queen ensuring she is not injured. Should you find the queen place her in a queen cage to one side.
Place the entire comb containing larvae and stores into the empty bottom brood box, if you can rescue a nice piece you can fasten this onto a frame in the top box.
Finally if you did find the queen, put a queen excluder on top of the bottom brood box, placing the queen onto the rescued larvae and eggs (upper box).
Feed if required.
Hopefully the bottom brood will hatch out; the queen will start laying in the top, the nurse bees will move into the top box, job done.

Once the bees are in the upper box remove the empty comb and bottom brood box.

Good luck

 

[oliver90owner]

If you intend moving them before next season, move barrel a distance away and allow most of the flyers to return to a hive positioned on the empty 'barrel site'. A few frames of comb will accomodate them.

It then seems like a careful cut out and transfer of brood comb (and any other recoverable comb) to frames (wired in place or supported with strong elastic bands around the frame) and insert in the other hive.

Job done. Finding/saving the queen would be a bonus, but lots of smoke may cause her to leg it to some inaccessible/unexpected part of the comb, so I would cover up (sounds like a hot job!), expect some aggro and go carefully. If it all goes quietly, another bonus. The old comb with stores could be placed over the hive, say in a feeder, or similarly below the brood and they will clear out the honey steadily and store it in the new comb supplied

Hope you find the queen easily as she can be secured in the new box under a Q/E and the rest of the brood put in another box on top so in three weeks some of the frames can be sorted out without any brood.

Not sure of where you are, or what your seasons are like. I will go and look for your province location now. Might be back. Your call, really whether you have time for the colony to get sorted before any cold weather, or leave them until early next season, when all the bees could be transferred to foundation as in a 'shook swarm'. Well fed and they would be away and rolling in no time at all, I would think.

And welcome to the forum. Hope you stick around. There are not many on here from Spain. Your experience of the different conditions you experience would be a bonus for many over here.

Regards, RAB

 

[andybee102]

Thanks Guys. It is like Spring here at present. The rains come down around Feb.
I have other hives, and this one presents a problem as I recovered the Barrel from a Garden here, and has been there for a few seasons. It is a very strong colony and has built the comb into the Barrel walls. The front of it is exposed and you can see the comb OK, and the Barrel is one of the old types that has the wooden panels arranged so as it is all held together by metal bands...Great Barrel for flowers, Wine, etc., If I try to disturb it, maybe it will rupture the comb, and drown everything, incl. the Queen.

 

[Hombre]

Welcome to the forum AndyBee102. I think that Kighill got it about right and I envy you your consistent 18 degrees Celcius temperatures and 9 degrees minimum at night that you are enjoying at the present.

A lot warmer than Madrid overnight at the end of next month!

 

[oliver90owner]

Ha, a bit different than where we go - Santiago, up in Galicia!

RAB

 

[Hombre]

That's it RAB, get the kids to marry and live in exotic places to which you would like to holiday whilst visiting them and the grand children.

 

[andybee102]

Hi everyone. Thanks for your advice, especially Kighill. I have now isolated the Queen,
These are an African Bee, and seemed docile OK. I look forward to speak to you guys again soon.