The saga of the rotten hives!

[Newbeeneil]

Dani asked me to keep you updated on how I do on removing the hives I discovered in a field last week to a new location and how I deal with them.
Well this morning was interesting! Over the last week I've been making outer boxes for the rotten hives so I could put them in for transportation. These outer boxes are made of basically a national 150mm roof top and bottom and a 200mm eke to the same dimension in between.
Today I took the boxes to site and lifted the first hive into the bottom section, put the eke on and then the roof. The bees were defensive as you would expect if someone had just removed your roof and floor and dropped you in a box!
The second hive was all together a different prospect..... they went berserk! I decided at this point my normal jacket and jeans might not be adequate protection so retired to the van to don the Osarmour! Back into the fray and taking a few stings I managed to get them in the box and hopefully they will have calmed down by the time I go to lock them up tonight?
I'll take them to my isolation apiary tomorrow and decide how to deal with them.

 

[blackcloud]

Nice work
Drive steady-a box full of sawdust and indignant stinging insects wouldn't be my first choice of jobs

 

[Erichalfbee]

You are a wizard. Bloomin good job, that.

 

[enrico]

Not that you need me to be...... But I am actually proud of you....... Good effort and amazing sense of caring

 

[Wilco]

And beautifully made boxes, as always.

 

[The Poot]

Proper job! Really impressed!

 

[Newbeeneil]

Looking at the state of the hives I think I’m going to put a cone on the exit with a new box and milk all the bees out over a few months. I don't fancy trying to break the hive up when it's full of bees. I can introduce a frame of decent eggs and see what they come up with.

 

[jeff33]

Awesome job with great ingenuity, good skills!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Looking at the state of the hives I think I’m going to put a cone on the exit with a new box and milk all the bees out over a few months. I don't fancy trying to break the hive up when it's full of bees. I can introduce a frame of decent eggs and see what they come up with.

Like a trap out?

 

[Newbeeneil]

Like a trap out?

Yes. The nasty hive I'll wait until the queen starves but I may try to strip the nice hive once I've milked most of the bees out.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes...no sense in preserving a nasty line...unless of course they are "varroa free".......

 

[Newbeeneil]

Unlikely, this is Sussex, not Kent.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Went back at about 2045 last night. The nice hive were all tucked up in bed so I screwed the piece of varroa mesh tight across the entrance.
Went to the nasty hive to do the same thing and there were a few "stop outs" but I shut them up anyway. I also screwed some strips of wood between the sections of box to make sure there was no "slippage" whilst wheel barrowing the hives across the field. As I was doing this about 20 returnees decided they didn't like what I was doing and started letting me know what they thought of me!
Back in an hour's time to pick them up!

 

[Newbeeneil]

Took them to my isolation apiary yesterday and I knocked up a one way valve for one of the hives. I put it on the nice hive at about 1700 today with a nuc to house the returning bees that can not get back into the hive. To start with the bees were disoriented but after I put a frame of brood in the nuc they settled down.

 

[blackcloud]

Yes...no sense in preserving a nasty line...unless of course they are "varroa free".......

Or low-salt
Gotta watch that blood pressure.

 

[Erichalfbee]

How's this going Jeff?

 

[Newbeeneil]

How's this going Jeff?

I now have a double nuc full of bees from the nice hive which had a cell introduced to it about a week or so ago so hopefully it will be queen right soon.
For some reason the nasty hive has only produced about 3 frames of bees so I assume it was not as strong as it made out!!!!
When the nucs are queen right I'll inspect for foulbrood and move them away...... then the dissection of the old hives can begin!
Neil

 

[Ian123]

I now have a double nuc full of bees from the nice hive which had a cell introduced to it about a week or so ago so hopefully it will be queen right soon.
For some reason the nasty hive has only produced about 3 frames of bees so I assume it was not as strong as it made out!!!!
When the nucs are queen right I'll inspect for foulbrood and move them away...... then the dissection of the old hives can begin!
Neil

I’ve used Beequick to push bees out of logs and hives before, then gone in and removed comb. Works well!!

 

[Newbeeneil]

I’ve used Beequick to push bees out of logs and hives before, then gone in and removed comb. Works well!!

Yes me too and I might do that in the end to clear the box prior to examining but to be honest I haven't got the time at present to embark on a major disassembling of a hive that will be full of "manky" honey and loads of old comb.
I'll arrange to get a roaring fire going and as I clear a section of the hive I'll put it straight onto the bonfire so I don't have every other bee in my isolation apiary all over the post mortem!! Robbing in an isolation apiary is probably not ideal!

 

[Erichalfbee]

How's this going Jeff?

Neil! For heavens sake where did Jeff come from. Sorry!