Capturing Wild Honey Bees... Fred gets the call!

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Hi everyone, I thought this would be of some interest to many of you, so I'm going to describe this process to you.

I'm on a list in Erie county (now apparently in NY State also) as someone who is willing to rescue honey bee swarms. It's early in the year (April 22nd) for this area to have swarms.

This is a situation where honey bees are in the wall of someone's home. There are lots of methods for removing honey bees from structure, but if the bees are to be kept in tact, the structure must be dismantled!

I will share with all of you, how it goes and the end results.

In this case, the home owners are concerned about the welfare of the honey bees and wanted to be certain that whoever came, would put the bees first! That would be Fred... a mail carrier told them. That's when I received an e-mail about the situation.

Well.. I told the owner that it may require cutting away some siding and sheathing to get at the comb and brood within the wall... "that's ok with us"... I was struck silly by the very idea that these people are willing to perform surgery on the skin of their home, all on behalf of a colony of honey bees! We need more people like this! Some would simply call an exterminator... which is a bad idea on many fronts.

So.. how will I contain the bees? Hopefully, I can find a brave soul with a camera to document this interesting procedure.

We are waiting for a nice cold day, so most of the colony is in the hive/wall. I will then set up a manufactured hive body on cinder blocks, convenient to the inhabited wall. This hive body will have no comb frames in it and will be empty. The top will be secured with bungy chords and the entrance wide open.

I will listen to the side of the house with a stethoscope to locate the strongest "hummm" of the bees. This will let me know how far down the wall they have placed their comb. If one had a thermal imager, we could do this by shooting a thermal scan of the wall.. .bees generate heat to protect the queen and brood. Our local fire department doesn't have a NFTI, so stethoscope it is and Fred looking like a dork in a white bee suit, listening to the side of the house (but that's nothing new).

With the top of the hive body open, I'll rip off the side of the wall and as quickly as possible (so the queen doesn't run off and hide in some dark recess) will grab the primary sections of comb and put it right into the hive body I brought. With the queen in this new location, the workers will follow her scent and remain with her.

Of course, I will use smokers to inhibit their alarm pheromone and calm them. Will also spritz them with sugar water inside the hive body into which they will be transferred...

So, check on this post... even if it's an absolute failure, I will share the results. I have no pride, so if the house falls down, or if hornets instead of bees come out, you will read about it here.

BUT, IF... it works and the bees are successfully transferred from wall, to hive and then to Fred's Fine Apiary... you'll get photos and short videos to laugh at and hopefully, learn from.

So Fred.. have you done this before? um.. that would be no but lack of experience has never stopped me before :}

Fred "wild honey bee wrangler"

www.FredsFineFowl.com

[Kevin]

Fred, Thanks for posting this, I have a neighbor down the street who has a large hive of bees in the wall of his storage shed,.I would love to own this hive and he wants them out of there. Please continue to post the details on this. Iv'e never raised bees before but this seems like a good opportunity to start learning. Kevin

[gardengirl72]

Can't wait to see the video!

[MoniDew]

looking forward to hearing the outcome. best of luck to you!

[Garden Green]

Good luck, Fred. I hope it goes well and you're right we do need more people out there like that! Looking forward to hearing of your experience!

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Just a follow up about the honey bees....

First, they were excited to have them removed safely....

When told about the need to remove siding and some sheathing to access the bees, they were very agreeable (to my surprise).

Then they wanted to wait until the bees had food resources before being stressed..... ok, we waited.

Then, as many small town folks do, they talked with everyone about the honey bees in the walls of their home.

Enter the exterminator... exceptionally well spoken individual, who impressed upon them, the inconvenience of having your home operated on by bee lovers and the potential damage to the structure.

Long story short, holes drilled, poison injected, bees dead...

When I didn't get a follow up call, I had my suspicions... when I heard from the woman who had contacted me in the first place, she forwarded the story to me. Ok, so I'm scratching my head.... "injected poison?" who is the wizard who advised that approach? Had he not heard of escape cones? And by the way, what of the remaining honey, comb and dead bees? It's all still in the walls of their home?

Of course it wasn't my call, but what a mess... in the end, there will be no super cool be removal documentary video after all.... sorry folks!

I was really looking forward to writing about it and sharing a success story, instead, the bug man makes money... Fred drinks cappuccino and shakes his head... oy vey!

[MoniDew]

oh, Fred! How disappointing! That's too bad.

I find it fundamentally - shall we say - frustrating ... ? ... when people are oblivous to how nature works and the importance of cooperating with nature when/if at all possible. Ignorance isn't bliss! It's just - well - ignorant!

[urbanagrarian]

Oh that must be so frustrating. You wonder why having poison injected into their house ever seemed like a good idea to people???

I've been keeping bees for about a year and actually caught my first swarm yesterday. Being afraid of heights and unwilling to go up ladders I never thought I'd ever have the opportunity to catch one. Someone called me because they knew I was a beekeeper. When I went to investigate, I discovered the bees were in a little 5ft tree so I was able to get them into a nuc box that I had. I was so nervous and excited I never took a picture of the swarm or asked anyone else to. It was a little nerve wracking doing it for the first time with lots of onlookers! There was a woman watching who took a picture. I hope I can find her and get a photo of my first swarm.
Joan
http://urban-agrarian.blogspot.com/

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

I am so glad that you had that experience... and that all went well for you.

Please let us know how that hive works out for you! The queen in the swarm is normally an older one, so they will probably supersede her later in the year.

What a great learning opportunity! Thank you for sharing.

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Hi everyone,

Here is a short video showing my newest apiary residents...

This swarm of honey bees collected very low on a tree, this made it easy to video (so you could see them) and for me to collect them (so they have a chance of surviving)....

Hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym_9Xydj5SM

I was able to provide them with hive bodies which have drawn out comb and "some" resources to get them going. A swarm this late in the season would normally have almost no chance of surviving. I'll keep you posted about them.

Thanks!
Fred
www.FredsFineFowl.com

[Ginger]

Heart breaking story.

I lost a hive this year to wax moths. It was my first colony so they were mourned thoroughly.

[Backyard Permaculture]

I just found online a free source of plans to build your own beekeeping equipment, including a four frame extractor. This is great for the do it yourselfer like I am, or the cash strapped. Funny, I am that too!

The link is this: http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/

Fred: Could you look at the plans for the extractor, and explain a few things to me?

1) What kind and size container would likely work for this extractor??

2) Page 2, section AA is this a 4 sided wire basket that the frames just lay up against for the centrifugal force to spin the honey out?

3) Page 1, Top View, is the 1/2" plywood cut the way it is to be able to drop the frames into the basket without removing the plywood top?

4) The steel used in the extractor that comes in contact with the honey is not labeled stainless. Should it not be coated/painted to prevent rust?

I kept bees for a number of years, up until 1988. Now I want to get started again. But now, here in Arizona, I have to deal with the Africanized bees.

Ron

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Ok, well... here is probably where Fred gets in trouble (';')

I'm not one to step on anyone's innovation/design, as I do encourage experimentation... plus, it's a "USDA" labeled model... I mean, who could argue with that?

I go round and round with my own sons on this... what will it cost to do your "own" model as compared to simply purchasing what someone else has ready to go off the shelf?

What about skills? There are weld fillets/joints on this design...
so, do you have a welder available and are you able to weld cres to cres, or are you going with 6011 rod? (stainless to stainless, or carbon steel)

Then, the nut which is welded to the plate, must also be bored out and then simply acts as a bushing for the spinning shaft to pass through.

As shown, the basket is 12 x 12" square.... it's also 20" tall.... the assembly being 25" tall and then a undetermined space below that, depending on the size of your holding tank/spinner tank.

Also, for securing the assembly, there are pipe flanges above and below...

I'm going to stop right here... rather than blathering on and on.

My opinion? Buy a pre-built hand cranked spinner/extractor from some online supplier, or look for used equipment being sold. Stainless steel and food grade parts are the only way I would go "personally"...

Price this home made system out... and make the parts stainless 400 or 300 series no matter...

Expanded metal-stainless
nuts bolts and washers-stainless
angle iron and top plate assembly aluminum (food grade) or stainless
where aluminum and stainless parts marry, they must be insulated by a nylon or some other non-conductive material washer...
I'm not a fan of painting anything that would come into contact with the honey... eventually the paint will wear off and be liberated into the honey. Carbon steel and rust? No way.... I've seen old galvinized units.. eat zinc? Um.. no thanks to that also... though you can drink milk and get the zinc out of your system... :}

Also, look at the crank assembly... no transmission/gearing.. therefore, the rotation is one to one.... resulting in a very slow spin...
Pre-constructed systems, those with hand cranks or motors have a gear box, normally nylon gears, which spins at a much quicker cycle than the actual crank rpm.

So, unless you're doing some sort of Scout project, or 4-H, where the process and construction are a big part of the satisfaction or experience, then I say..... buy one. (';') go stainless, plastic and food grade.

I have built my own hive bodies and do enjoy dove tailing and rabbit jointing those rascals in a pinch... and you do save some money there...

Have fun and let us know what you end up doing?

Oh and if you do build your own spinner, try to get a tall tank... as soon as the honey fills to the bottom of your spinner basket, you have to stop and drain some out so you can continue.... if the tank can hold 30 pounds or more before interfering with the spinner, then is acts as ballast and stabilizes your entire spinner system. Food for thought :}

As we're headed into winter here in the northeastern U.S., time to go to that basement or garage hobby shop and make something cool... just not a spinner! (my opinion only...)

As always,
Fred
www.FredsFineFowl.com
www.FrederickDunn.com

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Just a quick update....

This year bee keepers in this country reported profound losses in some cases. More honey bees died off and some industry folks are folding their operations as they can't afford to replenish their stock "again"...

Sure, I'm doing this on a very small scale... currently have only four colonies of honey bees.. BUT I have 100% survival. I don't treat them with anything at all ever. No preventive meds, no boosters, and no mite meds... none. I rely on the survivor bees being stronger on their own and allow the weaker specimens to simply die off without assistance. The result? Theoretically, stronger honey bee lines and it's proving out.

What's changed? Well, growers are relying on mobile pollinators to bring bees to their orchards and fields... bees packed up and on the move season after season... stressed, medicated and being fed a mono-culture (single food source)...

People like us... once kept bees locally in backyard apiaries year after year and did not move them. This resulted in honey bees well adapted to their regions.. they have heartiness much like plants do... some handle cold better, while others thrive in hot southern climates. These back yard operations did not suffer the stresses of being boxed and moved around to follow the flowering stage of crops across the U.S.

I say, if you can do it, please bring honey bees back to the back yard and close that missing link in regional/local pollinators. It's fun, it's easy and you can purchase an entire kit reasonably. Check out this link. Better Bee (http://www.betterbee.com/)

You are growing your own veggies and trying to eat local... let's think about doing the same with pollination, bring it home :}

This year, we anticipate harvesting around 300 lbs of wild flower honey! How much sugar are YOU purchasing this year? Would you like a natural substitute?

Have a great growing year!

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com

[Backyard Permaculture]

Just a quick update....
This year, we anticipate harvesting around 300 lbs of wild flower honey! How much sugar are YOU purchasing this year? Would you like a natural substitute?
Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com

Huh????

Substitute?

I don't understand???

Isn't Honey the original sweetener? Aren't Cane Sugar/Beet sugar and the others, the substitutes?

LOL