Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: Yankee11 on July 03, 2014, 06:33:58 pm
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I got a call from someone that said they think there are bees in this Honeysuckle hedge row. They said if I would come out and check I could have what was in there. WooHoo.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs29.postimg.cc%2Fgyif0m0gz%2F20140703_163547.jpg&hash=43b3162f565e395ed8f0dec27c0f44850019f92a) (http://postimg.cc/image/gyif0m0gz/)
Got a hold of land owner and she said some had set these up many many years ago and they have been abandoned. She said for us to get busy. And we could set them up in new boxes out there if we wanted another bee yard.
There is more than these. This was just after about 10 minutes of chopping. I am guessing 10 or more.
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I saw your post on FB and couldn't believe my eyes. Find of a lifetime there sir. I wish I was close enough to help you treasure hunt in that brush. Please, please allow us to see your progression through this. :yes:
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Nice find, good job, get those girls in newer equipment, remember smoker and veil lol
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How many hives and were there still bees in them and what shape do they appear to be in.
Ken
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Survivor hives, No mites, No Small Hive Beatles, No wax moths No disease. Maybe that is the secret, they were so well hid non of those thing could find them.
Nice tip to them being there and Free bees. Lets hope that all the hard work is worth it. Review the AFB, EFB, disease section in the disease book and look closely for signs them. If they looks suspicious shook swarm the bees into new equipment and destroy the old.
Good luck
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Survivor hives, No mites, No Small Hive Beatles, No wax moths No disease. Maybe that is the secret, they were so well hid non of those thing could find them.
Nice tip to them being there and Free bees. Lets hope that all the hard work is worth it. Review the AFB, EFB, disease section in the disease book and look closely for signs them. If they looks suspicious shook swarm the bees into new equipment and destroy the old.
Good luck
:yes:
That is a dream find right there my friend.. I would update those hives and leave them right where they are..
Reminds me of walking back to my old mentors field and realizing the hives were still back there and had not been burned like the ones up by the house.. Goosebumps and PURE joy...
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Yeah, That's my plan.
Dig them out, inspect them and put them in new equipment, and leave them right where they are. That is obviously a good spot if they have been
there all these years on their own.
I am anxious to get into the boxes and see what their like.
So far all the ones I have gotten to have bees in them. And I see many other areas in the vines where bees are coming and going.
I will for sure take pictures.
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This deserves a video Yankee! As a matter of fact this would make a good story at the end of the evening news. Anxious to follow this story :)
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He doesn' t want to go that far. Might refresh someones memory and they could come looking to pick up their bees.
Sent from my LG-P500h using Tapatalk 2
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Couple of things.
All bee yards are supposed to registered with the State, even if on your own property. These hives were never registered (i have already checked) the land owners spouse has passed away and she has no idea who put them out there.
She does know that they have not been cared for in many, many years and as grown over as they are it shows. The boxes are in bad shape from what I could see. Corners are separated etc. They appear to be sitting on the ground and the the bottom boards I think are collapsed. The bee are coming and going through the rotten corners of the boxes.
Maybe once I get them in the proper equipment and someone shows up to claim them we can have a conversation on how to keep bees. These things are berried so deep in these vines its crazy.
They are probably about 6-8 ft in from the edge
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs10.postimg.cc%2Fhsi4olgh1%2F20140703_163604.jpg&hash=0de7484ee0b16cee4cf1c7a71086db01f0625832) (http://postimg.cc/image/hsi4olgh1/)
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A Crazy Fun Adventure is what I'm seeing, something to get obsessed about ~ Wish I was there
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wow what an amazing opportunity!
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I hate to rain on the parade, but if the equipment is in as bad of shape as you say, it sounds like it could be one heck of a cutout. Maybe the frames are still in decent shape, but if they aren't, you are probably going to have some messed up comb in there. Still, it is a great opportunity and to have multiple colonies right there is a nice benefit. Good luck with all of that and I bet it will be fun!
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tbone - I'm envisioning the same stuff you are. Been contemplating how this is going to pan out. I do believe it going to be quite the adventure, one hive at a time. A lot of work and discovery.
And then there is the side of me thinking, 'Why not just leave well enough alone? those bees have been there successfully for a long time.'
Then there is the part of me that says, 'Maaaybe, Yankee could open them up, and do a split with each one. That way nature will take it's course and let the old hives be a great source to rob from, and be able to leave them alone at the same time.
Does it really matter if those old boxes are worn and broken down as long as the bees love living in them? Just make splits for now. Then when the old boxes are dangerously dilapidated, rid them and rebox the remaining bees... over a period of time.
Don't mind me Yankee, I'm just gazing out the window in a ponderous mood ;) 8) It will be interesting whatever you do with these hives ~
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Are without a doubt an amazing opportunity for survivor bees but what you may find out is that these bees are quite defensive because they haven't been bothered with by people but probably have been bothered by all of of nature's little critters. I still suspect with an amazing opportunity I would make sure my smoker was well lit haha
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Hey Yank,don't forget the bug spray or sulfur, ticks are bad this year and that looks like some places i go through to get to some hives that are loaded with ticks :o Jack
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what an amazing buried treasure find!!! like apis said 'survivor bees'. wonder how long they have been there? a very long time from the looks of the equipment. like everyone else, looking forward to updates from you! wish you well yankee! ;)
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See if you can find any of their diaries. :) On a serious note, it would be informative to know how the adjacent land has been used over the past few years. Has their been any pesticides in their two of three mile radius? In short, the history of these hives could quite easily boost our knowledge of bees.
What a find! Please keep us posted.
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I know the farmer so I can ask some questions. I am also going to meet with the lady who owns the land and see what she can tell me.
Like Jen, a part of me says to leave them, am I would if they were in a tree or some other natural setting. I know some places like that and I sometimes go to see them.
But, a bigger part of me wants to find out a lot. How many hives are under there that may be vacant, if so, why are they vacant. Whats the shape of these hives, honey bound, signs of problems etc. I am going to leave them out there. And yes I do want to start some hives from them. The guy farming the place kinda acts like if I don't do it he will find another beekeeper to do it. Said he has been looking for a beek to come and do this. I gave his wife a bottle of honey this week for letting us set a successful swarms trap on another one of there farms.
It could be a situation that bees are moving in and dying out then more moving in. Just rotating through the boxes. I just have to many questions to leave as is.
I do bet one thing though. I bet this hedge row throws some swarms in the springtime. ;D Can you imagine the clouds of bees coming out of this hedge.
I will keep everyone up to date as I go through this, I hope to get out there today and tomorrow and get started digging.
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What do you think is the major forage plants in this area? Dang, there's a lot of research questions begging to be asked. If you leave them in their boxes, the boxes will deteriorate to the point that the bees will leave them. Everything changes, and so will this scenario. I think research and renovate is the message. These have to be God sent stocker bees.
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Yankee! I'm on the edge of my seat for the 'Continuing Saga of Yankee's Treasure Hunt' ;) 8)
I Love a good read ~
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Doing nothing is no longer an option as yankee as inquired if the location was registered so now the state inspectors know that they are there and if they don't get looked after the state inspector will.
unless he finds hives that had died out and nice had eaten all the comb and then a swarm had moved back in and drew out new comb. All the comb will be very old and should be replaced. At this time of the year while it is still early for the bees to build comb, I would put the queen on a frame in a new super and would shake all the bees in to the super with her. and if frames looked like they contained no diseases place them above a queen excluder for 21 days for the brood to emerge and then remove the old frames.
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Well that's that then when the state inspectors are involved. This is going to be a good story :bee:
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Let a bee inspector know of where old abandoned bees and equipment are and they will be there to get it cleaned up so it doesn't become a source for the spreading of disease. As Yankee has communicated with them and his intentions to deal with them the inspectors will be happy that an experienced beekeeper is taking care of it.
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Ok, did some work today and got some more info and pictures.
It appears there are a total of 10 hives and 7 are alive. 3 dead.
Here some pictures to show just how deep in this hedge row these things are buried.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Fdsmf5352n%2F20140705_161930.jpg&hash=aaa3add897b7248e09b4c5d3e3f571de33de281e) (http://postimg.cc/image/dsmf5352n/)
Opened one of the dead hives
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Bottom boards have collapsed and openings are covered with leaves and dirt. Only entrances are holes and cracks.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Fwetrx273j%2F20140705_162135.jpg&hash=8bb8e3418123a314829fa65f3026ebcddec41784) (http://postimg.cc/image/wetrx273j/)
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Got one dug out to where I could open it. Just lifted lid and looked to get a idea.
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Lol,
7 bottom boards
7 inner covers
7 tops
140 frames
140 foundations.
I'll be taking donations :)
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Apis,
I have not gotten state inspector involved at this time. I will in do time. Only reason I know it has never been registered is because I have map of the bee yards from the state and this one is not on the map.
But seeing what i saw today, I have no doubts I am doing the right thing here. These hives need new homes and time to get some good comb drawn before winter. This is very doable here. These hives are very close to soybeans that will be blooming starting in a couple of weeks. Plus I will be feding these to help them get built up.
At some point I will register these hives. I'm just not going to get them involved until I get more into this and see what they look like.
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If the 7 that are alive look like the one you took the cover off of it will be great. Those bees looks healthy. How is their temperament? if they were aggressive you would know by now with the brush clearing you have had to do.
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Now problems from any of them while clearing the brush.
Now when I opened that cover without smoke, they did what I would expect. This one is in the best shape of them all. They go down here from here. on the outside at least.
Will probably go back for a while tomorrow with a bottom board, deep and new frames. And maybe look into this one a little deeper.
I am gonna have to walk these hives out of this brush about 3 feet at a time. I guess I'll use blocks and just set them about 3 feet in front of the hive and move it forward. Then do it again a couple days later until I get them clear of he brush.
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I would love to be close to you and come and play I have rescued a few derelict hives and swarms that have entered old junk equipment. not knowing what you will find is is part of the fun. Mice nests in the hives, propolized mice.
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Fascinating! Just Fascinating ;D
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I had an idea last night. The old boxes that are in decent shape, I'll make swarm traps out of them. I'll probably have enough old comb to put a frame or two in each trap in the spring.
I bet that within 3 miles of this old yard is all kinds of feral hives that has swarmed out of these this place over the years.
The gift that keeps on giving..
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Nothing is for free, but you may have something that money can't buy. I am glad for the bees that they have you tending to them. You know the value of what you have, you have the knowledge to salvage them, and you have the desire. This also makes for a summer project and a heck of a story!
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Baker- "Nothing is for free, but you may have something that money can't buy. I am glad for the bees that they have you tending to them. You know the value of what you have, you have the knowledge to salvage them, and you have the desire. This also makes for a summer project and a heck of a story!
Perfectly put Baker ;) This story will be like chapters in a book, each hive being a chapter
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Chapter 1. or Hive #1 :)
This us the in the best shape. It actually was in pretty good shape. Bees were very gentle. To one sting. No hive beetles and I removed a couple of drone brood frames. I checked for mites and did not see any. Comb and frames just super old.
I looked and looked for the crazy queen. Couldn't find her then after all this was done I found her in the lid. The first thing I removed and set aside. I shook her off on top of the frames and down inside the deeps she went. Good brood pattern but there was no room in boxes. I used all worker brood frames, left some honey and discarde what frames I could and replaced with new. Checkerboarded in new frames/foundation.
I did reuse the brick that was sitting on the top cover. Sentimental.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs4.postimg.cc%2Fi4vjm66bt%2F20140706_104854.jpg&hash=97a32d5dd97894915b0ceee51aade5d6a4fc45ed) (http://postimg.cc/image/i4vjm66bt/)
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Looks great, one down with 6 more to go, good luck on all to be gentle.
Ken
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Awesome! I love seeing the new, fresh hive awaiting the new residents next to the old. Are using as many frames as possible and/or tranferring brood comb over?
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Yes, I was able to cull 10 old frames and install 10 new frames and foundation. Once they get these new 10 frames drawn I will start culling the other old 10. I will be doing rearranging as they recover. Figured I was intrusive enough for one day.
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I kinda like this picture.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs22.postimg.cc%2F626b9wrml%2F20140706_113905.jpg&hash=afcb297c51646e84104acfdf9133be19cc8cbfbb) (http://postimg.cc/image/626b9wrml/)
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Yank, is that a queen excluder on top? if so, why so ??? Jack
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yes it is.
This hive has a ton of bees in it and they are sitting next to fields of soybeans. I put a super with pulled comb above the excluder because I bet they make honey between now and when the goldenrod starts to bloom.
Although I may rethink this and remove the super and put some feed on them and force them to get those 10 new frame drawn out so I can get the old 10 out. Would be nice going into winter as a double deep all new.
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I feel better now. This should help them pull those 10 new foundations quickly.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs24.postimg.cc%2F93iwj1ojl%2F20140707_113421.jpg&hash=8d29c7a2a2522819391df009029497b14951af25) (http://postimg.cc/image/93iwj1ojl/)
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With going back often to move the others hives over you can keep an eye on them but watch that they don't backfill all the comb in the brood box with nectar. If they have a good flow with lots of bees they can do both. They will draw out in the frames in the brood box to get rid of the bare foundation and give the queen more space to lay, as well as store in the honey super above.
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Chapter one looks like a nice read....now on to chapter two...Thanks for this post. Very interesting. Tom
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Reply 38 ~ That Is An Awesome Picture. All these hive just reek history
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Reply 38 ~ That Is An Awesome Picture. All these hive just reek history
A history of neglect and abuse. The bees are going to need therapeutic counseling for the next 20 years.
It is a good thing they have the Yankee11 doctor working on their case now.
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Third pic looks like silk or wax moth larvae strings between top bars of frames?
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Apis- "A history of neglect and abuse. The bees are going to need therapeutic counseling for the next 20 years.
It is a good thing they have the Yankee11 doctor working on their case now.
That might be the case Apis, these bees just might have abandonment issues, poor self esteem, tossed into street to survive... I could just cry...
But maybe, years ago, the owner of these hives died... and her/his bees were not figured into the equation ~sniff~
;) :)
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Barry,
If your talking about those things inside the box, they were wires from the wired wax foundation. They were all like that, I don't know why they were all sticking out like that. It was multiple frames.
I ended up clipping them all off, they were bugging me. ;)
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The exposed wires result when the comb gets eaten off by mice or distroide by wax moths. New bees move in and the old disteoyed combs ger stripped off and rebuilt. But once the comb is removed The crimp in the wire causes it to curve out but the bees build the comb straight.
Sent from my LG-P500h using Tapatalk 2
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Fantastic pics and story here.....
:t3816:
My luck has not been nearly as good as yours with old hives. Tha large majority of older/abandoned hives I have dealt with were a complete MESS to deal with.. Separating the brood frames took some major surgery to accomplish. I have high hopes each of the resurections you do will be as straight forward as the first one!
Keep the story rolling, and especially those Pictures.. really enjoying this one Yank!
Scott
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OK,
Finally got some time to get back in abandoned yard. First things first. I got to meet with the lady that owns the land. She said a couple of guys asked her
husband to set up the bee yard out there. She said since then both brothers as well as her husband have passed away. She does not their names or where they were from.
I asked her how long ago and she said "probably close to 20 years ago"
She said she was so excited to hear that there were still some of those hives still alive and was very happy that we were going to take them over.
She also said in the spring time there are always swarms every where. Said I could put traps up and she would call me whenever she saw one from now on. I want to go looking in the woods for bee trees when I get a chance :-)
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Oh YEAH! The proverbial HONEY HOLE has found YOU.. I am John Deere GREEN with envy!!
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Here we go with pictures.
These are hives number 2, 3 and 4. Very bad shape. Rotten wood, ants and termites.
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It was easier to just take the sides off instead of trying to removes frames from the top.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs12.postimg.cc%2Fjkkvt8k95%2F20140716_125928.jpg&hash=45dcfe951be26a9bf92fe4e92818258a823313e8) (http://postimg.cc/image/jkkvt8k95/)
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(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs13.postimg.cc%2Fyna7loawz%2F20140716_132103.jpg&hash=f7ef0890836e0186e480008ed4a9377b1cd1eced) (http://postimg.cc/image/yna7loawz/)
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Found the queen and caged her, she was actually on one of the side boards we removed at the very first.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs15.postimg.cc%2Fmmilt7eif%2F20140716_134058.jpg&hash=82d89c3a6a56235a2c68315d870e9ccb595a61c8) (http://postimg.cc/image/mmilt7eif/)
We released her when we were done. Thats her walking out of the left side of the cage.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2F4a66f3imr%2F20140716_142341.jpg&hash=cc59e1c7d9d2335c2af32291a180c9b4f8c9174d) (http://postimg.cc/image/4a66f3imr/)
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Used 2 frames of brood and this one put together. And 1 frame of honey/pollen. All other deep frames were culled and replaced with new.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs30.postimg.cc%2Fxrdg34mdp%2F20140716_135309.jpg&hash=5886570109b24afa34cc5f9b20909f8dcdabe245) (http://postimg.cc/image/xrdg34mdp/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs7.postimg.cc%2Fya6a4869j%2F20140716_135555.jpg&hash=9b3e8476cc60487c56ad6e93aeb2b1482c6891d8) (http://postimg.cc/image/ya6a4869j/)
The shallow super was full of capped honey. I checkerboarded the shallow capped frames in between pulled empty medium frames and sat the mediums on top.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs28.postimg.cc%2Fdqyvsnpyh%2F20140716_141132.jpg&hash=fa3b45e526f2d97d8640baabd0ebfca14bdde023) (http://postimg.cc/image/dqyvsnpyh/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs28.postimg.cc%2F6do37fvah%2F20140716_141140.jpg&hash=41e91eece0b1e456c4a957e0c790c92ca2522413) (http://postimg.cc/image/6do37fvah/)
New home. There were a glob of bees on the ground under front entrance. I put a put a piece of wood in the middle of them up to the entrance and they crawled up it.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs8.postimg.cc%2Fnx39ce9gh%2F20140716_144905.jpg&hash=a9ca3b01f04f7412f6280439ef7d27f4b7e01bb4) (http://postimg.cc/image/nx39ce9gh/)
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#3.
This one is a whopper.
Same story, side boards were rotten and shallow super was full of capped Honey. Check out these brood frames. All 10 were this way.
Did not see the queen in this one but I feel good we got here in ok.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs29.postimg.cc%2Fvha7oowpv%2F20140716_152838.jpg&hash=8ca0542c36a9f05e02c94681b9a202f17b6868d9) (http://postimg.cc/image/vha7oowpv/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs28.postimg.cc%2Frw9qrl5bd%2F20140716_153658.jpg&hash=f2016674de74f36bfc06e3f63b290b6f5929fab3) (http://postimg.cc/image/rw9qrl5bd/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs16.postimg.cc%2Fkm1t0ezq9%2F20140716_153928.jpg&hash=5d3ffe57f439737ab1a224fc152ac455330cb74d) (http://postimg.cc/image/km1t0ezq9/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs16.postimg.cc%2Fcul31uvkx%2F20140716_153953.jpg&hash=be1b11676547f1da6ba3f81652fb6074de0cd3d7) (http://postimg.cc/image/cul31uvkx/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs16.postimg.cc%2Fv7locf61t%2F20140716_154027.jpg&hash=30724a9e6306175d193139d6aa0dcabd01f66d49) (http://postimg.cc/image/v7locf61t/)
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HOLY Smokes Yank.. You REALLY needed to vid this... There went 20 minutes looking at the pictures... I hope you notice I didnt say a WASTED 20 minutes.. ;D
That looks like WORK, if you can consider sorting a buried treasure work... Absolutely fantastic! Enjoying this completely!!
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#4
Notice the nuc in this picture? Here is the story on this one. We opened it up and had a decent amount of bees. As we went through it we found no brood, no larvae and now eggs. But they did not act queenless. We looked and looked. So finally we just decided to shake them on the ground. After we had everything picked up and were leaving I noticed they were all balled up on the ground where the old hive was. I went over and was looking through the bees.
Yep, you guessed it. There was a queen walking around. I yelled my partner to bring me a cage. When he got there I had her on a stick and she flew. I told him lets just stand here for a bit. After about a minute I saw her on the ground. Put her in a cage a rubberbanded her to a frame and put her inside the nuc. Sat the nuc on the ground for the night.
I went back out this morning and took a frame of brood from hive number 3 and put in a frame of honey. I released her. I think they will stay.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs28.postimg.cc%2Fizzxdxp2h%2F20140717_082554.jpg&hash=d7603e1bd3aae838c783d88cd7d6382241e2a61d) (http://postimg.cc/image/izzxdxp2h/)
I decided to start me a burn pile onsite instead of carrying all this old wood back to my house and getting my hives all stirred up.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs28.postimg.cc%2F4v3b3lusp%2F20140717_082517.jpg&hash=b624bb26fdf6cc340af9aa9547576fbdee8beb01) (http://postimg.cc/image/4v3b3lusp/)
So here is a before and after picture up till now. 3 hives left to go.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs24.postimg.cc%2F80ydwq035%2F20140703_163547.jpg&hash=0626579c9a23a5a40a6a805236f2759fe8c3b927) (http://postimg.cc/image/80ydwq035/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.postimg.cc%2F5m59upft1%2F20140717_085954.jpg&hash=d17bb6843bfabe81b944421e52abfa7c22d416ad) (http://postimg.cc/image/5m59upft1/)
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Hive # 3 looks good the comb has not been torn down and rebuilt like it has bees in most the other hives. Itr amazes me how well comb strands up when it has bees on it continuity. out of all the hives posted so far this one looks like it has always had bees in it and never got over run with wax moths or the wax eaten by mice. It looks good what you are doing and it looks like some nice queen stock may come out of this project.
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I wonder how old that honey is? It looks very aged! Did you try it? Maybe it's like a fine wine. Looks like an awesome time!
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Whats really amazing is I have yet to see a single SHB, not a single one.
2 of the 3 that are left are double deeps and appear to be very crowded. I hope they are like #3. And yes, there will be queens grafted out of these hives next spring.
Also, these all are very, very gentle bees. We could have done what we did without our gear, but you just never know. They flew but didn't get in our face, no high pitch buzzing. They were very fun to work with. I dodn't even remember them head butting any.
I am straining some of the capped Honey tonight. It is really dark and no crystallized.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs8.postimg.cc%2Fuf539bja9%2F20140717_221721.jpg&hash=fa480ed8ab08a1bc6f70c4b7b4107a084f6c0d14) (http://postimg.cc/image/uf539bja9/)
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This story just gives me the goose bumps. Yankee! if I were you, I would write a small book about this! I'm not kidding!
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Yea Jen this is something else.
To give you an idea how old this is. Not sure if you can see it in one of the pictures, but there is a fence buried in that Honeysuckle. I figured out that we are actually at the back of these hives, The landing boards and entrances are facing away form us and into the Honeysuckle.
This tells me that the fence used to be clear and the hives facing the fence,
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Amazing! 20 years.... I'm glued to your story ;D
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Yank- "#3.
This one is a whopper.
This is a very cool project just in and of itself, look at the history there! give me goose bumps
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I know Tbone, if I sent Yankee a little jar to put some of that honey in it, I would love to taste it on my toast
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I think this is the greatest discovery since King Tut. The bees may have the genes that put us all into treatment free bees. :):) It is an amazing find, and I can't believe how healthy these bees are.
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The Tut Hives.......... :D
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Ha, My wife's maiden name is Tutt.. No joking.
What I am most amazed about is the non existence of a single SHB. I mean, the things have plenty of placed to hide and mate in the old rotten hives. Heck,
all the larva have to do is fall to the bottom inside the hives. They are practically dirt floor hives.
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Yankee- "Ha, My wife's maiden name is Tutt.. No joking.
Well if that don't beat all!
Yankee- "What I am most amazed about is the non existence of a single SHB.
And yet another brilliant part to this story
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Another thought on the SHB beetle. They say have hives in full sun. These haves havn't seen summer sun in years and years and years.
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I'm tellin ya Yankee... you have a publishable story here..
The Honeysuckle Hives
By Yankee Tut and Mrs Yankee Tutt
.... :D
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Another thought on the SHB beetle. They say have hives in full sun. These haves havn't seen summer sun in years and years and years.
That's true. These bees really had it figured out.
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Bees living in the dark for years without shb? and a Yankee living in Arkansas? The mystery deepens??? :laugh: All kidding aside, i'm very interested in your experience, i had a similar experience a few years ago with two hives that had been abandon in a woods with buck brush grown up all around them and there bottom boards rotted off. Keep the info coming. Jack
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"Bees living in the dark for years without shb? and a Yankee living in Arkansas? The mystery deepens??? :laugh: All kidding aside, i'm very interested in your experience, i had a similar experience a few years ago with two hives that had been abandon in a woods with buck brush grown up all around them and there bottom boards rotted off. Keep the info coming. Jack
ANOTHER MOUNTIAN MONSTER ADVENTURE lol
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I just finished reading this entire string. Fascinating and educational! ;D
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Local TV station coming out to film and interview tomorrow at 2pm. Been in the works for a little while. Is interested in us since we catch all of our bees
locally, swarms, cut outs and trap outs.
He wants to go out to this Honeysuckle Yard and here at my house. May take him to one of our trap outs we have going on.e
He was really interested in this abandoned bee yard we are working on.
We will see how this works out. :D
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Heh, this story only gets better!
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I KNEW IT! This is a news worthy story. Next? The Discovery Channel Yankee :D
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That's fantastic Yankee 11, so now we have a action/ adventure star among us;)
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Yankee, when the news story airs, please post a link to the news story here. We are all on the edges of our seats!
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I second Bakersdozen notion.
Ken
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Yankee11:
Take care not to get the TV person stung. You're going to get some great free publicity, so don't let a bee sting to the lip or something worse put a cloud on your beautiful day. Suit that individual up well.
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Baker- "Yankee, when the news story airs, please post a link to the news story here. We are all on the edges of our seats!
Ditto on that! ;D
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Yankee11:
Take care not to get the TV person stung. You're going to get some great free publicity, so don't let a bee sting to the lip or something worse put a cloud on your beautiful day. Suit that individual up well.
awwwwww.... I was SO looking forward to reporters and camera men running on national TV..... :laugh:
Good suggestion though!
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Yankee- "And yes I do want to start some hives from them.
That's what I'm thinking for sure!
How far away are these hives from where you live?
There is a chimney in the center of town that has had bees in it for over 40 years. The proprietors of the building like the bees want them left alone. I like that too.
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Ok,
Did the interview with TV today. When he got here he said the story has changed a bit from saving bees to more of a backyard beekeeping story.
So, he interviewed me in front of my hives here at the house and then he wanted to go out to the Honeysuckle Hives :) (as Jen has named them).
I am not sure how much of what we filmed will make the segment now that it has changed from when he first contacted me. But, he said its a 4 1/2 to 5 minute story. Who knows, he was really interested in the Honeysuckle Hives though. We will see. With around 50 hives and 7 bee yards, were not really backyard beekeepers anymore. Lol
I'll post a link when I get it. It airs Wed night.
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Special Label, Name provided by Jen.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs1.postimg.cc%2Fnz2t5x2tn%2F20140719_225506.jpg&hash=0f5d44f9e1eac4eac8fdc220b106c04ad5c0093a) (http://postimg.cc/image/nz2t5x2tn/)
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Ohhh WoWoWoW! Hhahahaha! ~ :bee: Beelieve it or not.. I don't know what to say... :-[ ;D :-[
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One of the 4 hives we have done so far, we couldn't find the queen. We have let them settle for about 4 days and was out there today. We found her and she is a bute. 4 for so for with the queens. 3 to go.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Fd7lw36u8v%2F20140720_155948.jpg&hash=dbf6e3276dedc9f45eb64f6afa51a58d8baafca1) (http://postimg.cc/image/d7lw36u8v/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs15.postimg.cc%2F5uym97w2f%2F20140720_155902.jpg&hash=480d03ae7be5f9f05b793c9df0c4d19d323af2d4) (http://postimg.cc/image/5uym97w2f/)
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Ohhh WoWoWoW! Hhahahaha! ~ :bee: Beelieve it or not.. I don't know what to say... :-[ ;D :-[
:o :o :o :o
OMG!! Yankee, You CONTINUE to impress me!!!
ROFL!! Jen, having provided that name, I would think that getting a bottle of that special honey would be in order!!! ;D
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That first bottle is heading her way. ;D
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Awe Shucks you guys! I'm humble ~ Can't wait to sample this historic honey ;) 8)
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This is indeed a great story and I'm anxious to see it on the news, too. Great job on the label. You should be proud, Jen! :)
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Special Label, Name provided by Jen.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs1.postimg.cc%2Fnz2t5x2tn%2F20140719_225506.jpg&hash=0f5d44f9e1eac4eac8fdc220b106c04ad5c0093a) (http://postimg.cc/image/nz2t5x2tn/)
Is that a real label? That's cool.
Those two queens are a pin up girls!
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:nice:
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love the label!
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Back to the Honeysuckle Hives.
#5
This was a double deep. We managed to salvage about 6 or 7 frames of capped brood and larva. Did find the queen and she got moved to the new box. We checker boarded new frames/foundation in between the old brood frames. They are gonna be just fine.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2F5a7litfab%2F20140729_172217.jpg&hash=66309c4227f1ccddb9a279232c42a666180f2c64) (http://postimg.cc/image/5a7litfab/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2Fmiiq1qso3%2F20140729_172229.jpg&hash=9c53c728a1302e4354ecfd25995584bf5b6ab22e) (http://postimg.cc/image/miiq1qso3/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2Fx1ipqwvc3%2F20140729_172315.jpg&hash=c746f786795efab14b22a85bd753e37ef8171ec9) (http://postimg.cc/image/x1ipqwvc3/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2Fn2xr4flwj%2F20140729_172406.jpg&hash=7cfffd2b9f6c221b6bbc41cb83b51aef36a10f05) (http://postimg.cc/image/n2xr4flwj/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2Fs0bbpjnvn%2F20140729_175025.jpg&hash=60522a4ff4fab548616430cdfa9333006f8853ed) (http://postimg.cc/image/s0bbpjnvn/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2Fg63krwplv%2F20140729_175031.jpg&hash=4d389aea7286bd3a9816d1073e92ff93ca1cfe06) (http://postimg.cc/image/g63krwplv/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2Fnjiyqv9nn%2F20140729_175045.jpg&hash=d354f0377fd63173d536e8f0543e3c63bc78b4bd) (http://postimg.cc/image/njiyqv9nn/)
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wow, looks like it took some fortitude to get those old hives apart, and the wax moth look like they had about run themselves out of room!
Great pics and story.. Really looking forward to the book!! Movie would be good too but something is always lost when those big time producers get ahold of the story and try to put it on the screen. ;D
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2 more to go through? The wax moths had their way but they soon consume all the food they require and shortly after abandon the hive leaving it free for the bees to re-habitat the hive. the bees don't do a real good job of cleaning out the damage from the wax moth though.
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Hive #6.
Another strong hive in need of a new home.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Frtke6677z%2F20140729_181441.jpg&hash=d7230b5b64f257a71f005c1f412aa31f4cee375a) (http://postimg.cc/image/rtke6677z/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Fso6xs7f2n%2F20140729_181457.jpg&hash=3ddc92041046df951875d205b5df4702882712aa) (http://postimg.cc/image/so6xs7f2n/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Flkugyuk9b%2F20140729_181516.jpg&hash=47066cc513adefb17efa24b83e7ccf6245765d09) (http://postimg.cc/image/lkugyuk9b/)
This one was a little tricky. They had the top frames completely stuck to the bottom frames. We could not separate the top box from the bottom. I removed the front board from the bottom deep. That allowed be pick up the top box with the frames still attached. Then I was able to remove the frames
one by one with tearing them up. Got the queen in this one as well. 6 for 6 so far on the queens.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs23.postimg.cc%2F6n49q7myf%2F20140729_182651.jpg&hash=c6679427644e5e67f6465da5dfee8595530c631c) (http://postimg.cc/image/6n49q7myf/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs23.postimg.cc%2Fhwwzl5rzr%2F20140729_182655.jpg&hash=f90054fb46e9ac724d65a077b7027a37d11e5ac3) (http://postimg.cc/image/hwwzl5rzr/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs23.postimg.cc%2F3rr6jciyf%2F20140729_182659.jpg&hash=29ab0941f908b1ae814848fd5417f2a0ed25616e) (http://postimg.cc/image/3rr6jciyf/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs23.postimg.cc%2F6jag9yhh3%2F20140729_182704.jpg&hash=457e3dab08d4293061c80725c57df6e53feae6dc) (http://postimg.cc/image/6jag9yhh3/)
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Sweet! More great pics.. the only thing better would be walking across the back yard and falling into a hole.. and finding a viable gold mine...
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The history in these hives gives me goose bumps!
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That hive looks in remarkable good shape the frames look like they have had bees on them most the time no real signs of wax moth or mice damage. Is it a bit of mold on the bottom of the one frame?
Think about it, with the hives buried so deep in the honey suckle and queen needing to return from mating flights. Swarms finding their way in to discover the empty hives to recolonate. And all the bees coming and going on cleansing, orientation and foraging trips. and we worry about a few blades of grass and weeds in the bees flight path to the hive entrance. Makes me wonder are we doing them any favors buy being over attentive?
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Think about it, with the hives buried so deep in the honey suckle and queen needing to return from mating flights. Swarms finding their way in to discover the empty hives to recolonate. And all the bees coming and going on cleansing, orientation and foraging trips. and we worry about a few blades of grass and weeds in the bees flight path to the hive entrance. Makes me wonder are we doing them any favors buy being over attentive?
Well said!
Have a reason to go into the hives. If you dont have a good reason then dont open them. Good reason is subject to interpretation O:-)
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Back to Hive #1.
Things looking very good. I checker boarded foundation between their old frames. I will start moving thier old comb to the outer edges and then culling.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs29.postimg.cc%2F7ak7zxnwj%2F20140805_145629.jpg&hash=1564f969dbc001c1d67ebfaa6dc871f5d1acd6c9) (http://postimg.cc/image/7ak7zxnwj/)
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This is looking incredible looks so good.
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Wow! One solid queen right there :eusa_clap:
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Impressive and satisfying!
Yank, are you planning to treat? Interested in how they respond to mites when they are restrained from swarming for brood break.
Don't stop the updates!