Lindley Park Tree--10/11/15

[Jacobs]

I got a call this weekend about a tree with bees in it that had fallen across a creek in Lindley Park. Wally called about something else and I told him I was going to try and save the bees. He dropped what he was doing and joined in a day of opening up the tree and putting comb and bees in a hive. Some bees remained with the brood, but the next morning, the queen and a cluster of bees were about 20 feet up in a small tree that went across the creek. We got them down, got the queen in a clip, and at dusk last night, I brought the bees home. As usual, this turned out to be a lot more challenging than it looked at first. As usual, I learned a lot working with Wally.

My next beekeeping lesson needs to be Chainsaw 101.

http://s844.photobucket.com/user/robert ... ark%20Tree

[WannaBee1]

This looks like quite an adventure. You guys are the best! Thanks for all you do and share with GCBA. Bonus: the great photos Rob shot will work well as documentation for the Golden Achievement Program.

[Wally]

Just use the stumps. If they see my picture, they may throw GCBA out of NCSBA.

[WannaBee1]

Actually, Wally, I thought you looked pretty good!
Also, as you shared with the club on Tuesday night, you used that opportunity to demonstrate to anyone who happened to be watching you guys work with gloves off and hands on, that honey bees aren't a threat to the general public.
By the way, was this tree in a creek on residential property or in the arboretum? You were in my neighborhood. I would have loved to watch the process. Maybe next time?

[Jacobs]

The tree was in the park area at Lindell. It was near, but not in, the Arboretum.

[Jacobs]

This is the first day I have been seeing foragers coming back with pollen. I take that as a hopeful sign. Unlike my other bees, these have a feeder on them and have been getting sugar water. I want to give it about another week for the bees to settle in and then see what is going on. I want to determine if the brood comb we put in frames produced bees and if the bees will need additional space.

[Wally]

Looks like it will hit the 70's again about Wednesday.

[Jacobs]

I checked the hive yesterday (Wednesday). The queen has filled 1 frame of drawn comb with eggs and larvae. Some of the brood Wally banded into frames has emerged. The bees are chewing through rubber bands and have used some of their feed to repair comb and fill some of the gaps in comb that was banded in. The hive did not seem as strong as when we got the bees out. I don't know if enough foragers were out to make a difference or if my house is just close enough to Lindley Park that some of the old foragers headed for "home" before getting oriented to the new location.

[Wally]

Thanks for the update.

[Jacobs]

We did what we could, but they did not make it--just some scattered capped brood that had chilled as the population dwindled.

[Wally]

Now we will probably get a ticket from the city for trespassing and theft of city owned bees.