Unbelievable!

[Perry]

I got a call this afternoon from a fellow in Berwick, about half an hour further in the valley. He claimed there were bees up in a tree and they were active. At first I figured it was probably a wasp or hornet nest, but when he described it as having 6 or 7 "sections" my interest jumped. I asked if he could send me some pictures and sure enough, an open air colony, here in Nova Scotia, on November 2nd. I wouldn't have believed it if not for the pictures.




I will try and find the time tomorrow to go to Berwick and see what can be done. He says it is 10 to 15 feet up and the swarm is close enough to the trunk of the tree to be able to use a ladder. I am wondering if I should just cut the branch and lower it intact into a box, or do a standard save and rubber band comb, or just shake them onto drawn comb. There can't be much if any brood, we have been down to just above freezing a few times already. They will have to get by living on fondant, too late to feed any other way and I doubt they have much for stores.
If I save the branch, lower it into a box and place a super above they can move up into, they may have a chance? I'm a sucker for underdogs.

[iddee]

I would definitely give it a try.

[brooksbeefarm]

What ever you do will give them a better chace than they have to make it. Jack

[CBT]

You might get a large cardboard box and cut the sides for the limb to be supported till you get them home.

[Perry]

You might get a large cardboard box and cut the sides for the limb to be supported till you get them home.

I had this in mind.

[Lburou]

I have assisted in three such colony rescues...Still have a crick in my neck.   

[Bakersdozen]

I believe this would qualify for the "Share you unusual" thread.  You go, Perry! 

[Nugget Shooter]

Watching and waiting for update.... Wow hope they make it.

[Perry]

Well, it didn't take long.
I put a ladder up and went up to have look ala Iddee, and immediately took 2 to the head, one under my right eye and one behind my right ear. Promptly went back down and suited up. I forgot all about this not being a swarm with nothing to defend, these girls did and I forgot that.




I brought a tape measure along to size it up and as it turns out I had a perfect box for it. I had to remove one small slice of comb on the left that had nothing on it. I cut the end out of the box and made 2 notches in it to accommodate the branch. I raised the box right up around the swarm (I swear the box was perfectly made for this swarm) and when the branch fit into the notches of the box, I folded over the lid and taped it shut. I then cut off both ends of the branch sticking out of the box and handed it down to my neighbour who joined me.



I now have it at home and will let it settle down. I'm a little unsure what to do so a few days thinking will help me figure out where to go with this. Maybe a box with drawn frames on top, or just an old fashioned cut-out? It is going to rain a lot over the next day or so and daily highs are only going to be 6 C (42 F) sop I don't like the last option.





I have seen one other open air colony in my time but it was hanging down from a soffit back in Vancouver BC which has completely different weather than we do here. This was weird yet amazing, especially for this time of year. Bizarre.

[Lburou]

Great solution to the task Perry.  TWo of our Club members had a similar recovery and kept the branch and combs (with the bees removed). It is a great visual aid at bee talks and demonstrations by the Club. Sorry, all I have to show it is this picture. 

[Nugget Shooter]

Great photos and smooth as silk.... Well except for getting tagged a couple times  Thank you for sharing.

[LazyBkpr]

Well done!

   Now, are you going to try to get them through as a hive or are you going to strengthen a hive you already have with them?

[Perry]

I'm leaning towards getting them to move up into a deep placed on top. My friend Adam had one just like this last year in Vermont where he lives now. He fed them but said they just kept taking the feed down and wouldn't move up and ended up dieing in place. He recommends shaking them out into a single and then feeding. We are starting to dip below freezing at night now so my choices may be limited. I may just insulate what's there and put feed on top and hope for the best.

[Tyler Ducharme]

Hi Perry: Don't know how helpful this will be, but a good source of boxes that fit cut tree branches well are chimney pipe boxes.  We had our chimney moved this summer and the piping boxes are 12" by 12" and 36" long.  When the fellow was working I asked him to keep the boxes intact and tried a demo with a branch.  Fit perfectly!  When I dealt with the summer swarms I hastily used whatever box was available with mixed results so I'm hoping this fall these type of boxes will be one more tool.  The piping came from Frasers in Annapolis Royal.  Good catch.

[Perry]

Hey Tyler, thanks for the tip, and by the way....CONGRATS on your first post!

[LazyBkpr]

I am in the same position with more than one hive here.. a month and a half ago they were looking Fair to good as far as winter stores..   I have been feeding.. not FAST, just enough to keep them from using what they had....   however, apparently i have misjudged how much honey/syrup they actually NEEDED...    I was giving them a gallon every week... (70+ gallons of syrup a week)  They used that gallon, AND they used just about EVERYTHING they had stored...    By now it is usually 40/50 during the day and low 30's at night...     It is still near 70 and we have not had a single freezing night yet. I still have brood in some hives...    I now HAVE cakes on ALL hives, but I have this sinking feeling I do not like...   The struggle to increase numbers this spring will probably be undone by my lack of struggle this fall.    So were both going to find out if the bees can survive on sugar alone.

[Gypsi]

Nice removal. I'll post our live oak tree removal one day. Due to foot traffic, bicycle traffic, etc it had to be fast.  They have done pretty well out here despite a bit of robbing at the beginning.