Wild Honey Bee Colony ?

[Jon.21]

Went out for a walk by my house and saw this. Was weird as I saw the tree and thought that it would be an ideal location for a colony of bees to setup shop and then I saw this activity. Honey bee colony ? About 30/40ft up so can’t get any closer and was using the full extent of my iPhone zoom to get this.
Any thoughts on how to confirm other than wait till winter for a warm day and see if they are flying then ?

 

[Ian123]

What are you trying to confirm?……look like honey bees to me!
Probably Carniolan

 

[Jon.21]

Hi. Thanks. Trying to confirm if they are honey bees. Difficult to tell so thought I would see what you guys think.

 

[Sutty]

Looks like honeybees - there is even some comb visible!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What are you trying to confirm?……look like honey bees to me!
Probably Carniolan

don't you mean free living survivor carnolians?

 

[Jon.21]

Looks like honeybees - there is even some comb visible!

I’d completely missed the comb. Good spot. Noticed either another entrance or another colony further down the tree today. Be interesting to see how they get on over this winter.

 

[Sutty]

I’d completely missed the comb. Good spot. Noticed either another entrance or another colony further down the tree today. Be interesting to see how they get on over this winter.

Not going to treat them to an OA sublimation then!?

 

[Garry R]

Not so much a Langstroth - more a longshot......................

 

[Ian123]

don't you mean free living survivor carnolians?

Don’t be Daft these are……. special eco type survivor free living locally adapted carniolans no less

 

[JamezF]

Don’t be Daft these are……. special eco type survivor free living locally adapted carniolans no less

Steady on. You'll be getting some peoples' valleys all moist...

James

 

[Ian123]

Steady on. You'll be getting some peoples' valleys all moist...

James

No the bee farmer with buckfasts at the other end of the estate prefers the moist valleys.

 

[Jon.21]

Not going to treat them to an OA sublimation then!?

Don’t think my ladders will reach that high .

 

[Jon.21]

Looks like it has a huge entrance with comb fully exposed to the elements. Goes against the 50pence piece size hole criteria that bee swarms are supposed to search for when looking for potential sites.

 

[Wilco]

I’d completely missed the comb. Good spot. Noticed either another entrance or another colony further down the tree today. Be interesting to see how they get on over this winter.

Wouldn't be surprised if part of that tree comes down this winter.

All the comb on view looks pretty new so they may be a recently arrived swarm and may not last long. Was called to look at a colony in a tree being felled the other day and the tree surgeons said it was the first they'd encountered in 30 years. Although I also know of another couple elsewhere where the owners report continuous inhabitants over many years.

 

[Beth]

We have an old beech on the farm with an partially healed split in the side way up, and every year it's humming with bees too! I've set up a hive with a few old brood combs nearby in the unlikely event they decide to swarm.

They are some specimens! Completely and utterly exposed to the north wind all winter.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

We have an old beech on the farm with an partially healed split in the side way up, and every year it's humming with bees too! I've set up a hive with a few old brood combs nearby in the unlikely event they decide to swarm.

They are some specimens! Completely and utterly exposed to the north wind all winter.

Sounds like the incident where one the ancient kings of England fell out with his wife and her mother. They were allegedly confined to a cage hanging on the north wall of Berwick castle for 3 years and fed just enough to stay alive.