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Ricky’s Bees: These bees were in a house that is slated to be demolished. There’s no electricity on-site, so that means that I had to work slower – without my usual arsenal of tools. After moving the brood to their new hive box (10 full frames of brood!) I hand-scooped the bees to the new box. I did not see the queen, but the bees are fanning at the entrance – so I’m hoping that she made it. I’ll check on them tomorrow, and then move them to the out-yard.
It is still very much winter, however, the bees that have survived the winter are starting to build up their brood. On warm days, folks are noticing honeybee activity coming to and from their chosen homes. Unfortunately, sometimes the honeybees have chosen your home to move into. Usually, they choose to move in under the eve, above the soffit board. If you have honeybees living in your home, barn, shed, or other outbuilding – They can be humanely removed by a competent beekeeper. Call Rex Smith of Harmony Hollow Apiary to learn more. We will need to know: How long have the bees been there? How high is the entrance that you see the activity at? Type of material (brick wall, wood/pressboard siding, hardi-siding, etc), as well as what sort of interaction you have had with them. (do they bump you or warn you that you are in “their space”? You later in the spring, you may also notice a “swarm” or “ball of bees” that may be the size of a volleyball or larger (I have caught swarms that are double the size of a basketball before!). Rex Smith holds a honeybee removal permit from the Texas Apiary Inspection Service (TAIS) and manages his honeybees at various organically run farms outside of the Dallas Metroplex and East Texas. Call 469-251-2BEE (2233) for information regarding CNG (Certified Naturally Grown) honey or to discuss honeybee removals. This week I have received word that my Apiary has been approved for “Certified Naturally Grown” in 2014. For those unfamiliar with what that means – it’s an alternative certification – very similar to “Organic” certification. CNG Standards are very similar to those required for the national “Organic” standards – with the main difference being the inspection portion of the certification. With CNG – the inspections are performed by local peers in your field. With CNG – other beekeepers examine my hives and my beekeeping practices – and certify that they feel that my methods comply with natural and sustainable practices. There are currently about 700 CNG certified farms and apiaries in the United States – and Harmony Hollow Apiaries is (currently) one of only two certified apiaries in Texas. To find a Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) farm or apiary near you – or to see the standards that a CNG certified farm or apiary must adhere to – see their site at: http://www.NaturallyGrown.org This is proving to be an exciting year for us at Harmony Hollow Apiary – and I look forward to seeing where the bees take us in the future. Welcome, and “thank you” to all the new folks who have “Liked” our page for Harmony Hollow Apiaries. With the winter solstice yesterday, and the re-drawing out of the day lengths, our new year begins for our beekeeping world. In a few weeks, if temps are warm enough, and if the bees have enough stores of pollen and open nectar, the queens should start laying eggs again – and a new brood of young bees will welcome in spring and all the new growth, pollen and nectar – and this next year will be a GREAT year of growth for the bee yard! This has been a winter of winters so far this year – and we’re not even officially to winter, yet! I’m anxious to get out to the bee-yard and assess the hives. Once the ice and nastiness melts away, and the fields are dry enough to drive in – I’ve got a few hives to move, and will check on them all (without opening them up!) This has been a winter of winters so far this year – and we’re not even officially to winter, yet! I’m anxious to get out to the bee-yard and assess the hives. Once the ice and nastiness melts away, and the fields are dry enough to drive in – I’ve got a few hives to move, and will check on them all (without opening them up!) The honeybees have been very busy this summer! Feral hives that normally would have cast off (probably) one swarm, have had strange temperature cycles here in North Texas that have encouraged 3-4 swarms being produced. This means that beekeepers have been very busy performing swarm pick-ups as well as colony removals. For anyone wanting to keep up with a few pictures of my honeybee removals – please “Like” my FaceBook page for Harmony Hollow Apiaries.
Many of the hives of honeybees that were removed from residences or collected as swarms and nursed to strength have been moved up to full 10-frame commercial-sized boxes. They are now re-orienting to a new field and feasting on some of the best forage that can be provided – land used as an organic farm, and the surrounding fields chock-full of blooming wildflowers. We are looking forward to their continued growth and benefits of their pollination of the organic crops – that make it to our dinner tables and restaurants here in the Dallas metroplex. With our cool spring weather, the swarm season this years seems to be a long one. Calls continue to come in consistently with new swarms arriving in residential areas of the city. Some originate from hives that already live in the walls or eves of homes or building structures – and some emit from natural / greenbelt areas. Either way – we recommend that you call a beekeeper to perform the honeybee recovery. Today Odin (our white German Shepherd) alerted me that there was something going on in the garden. A swarm arrived into my equipment shed where I keep extra hive boxes. This video is an excerpt – showing one method of getting the bees into a box. Note that this method is generally only used with a swarm – when bees are (generally) in their most docile state.
This last 2 weeks (March 30-April 9 2013) have been “swarm week”. I’ve received no less than 20 calls per day for swarm pickups in people yards, trees, houses, squirrel habitats, school yards, and more… I even caught a swarm that was just innocently crossing the road while I was between calls! Removal – Monday morning. These bees had taken up residence in a playhouse. The ceiling (roof) of the play house had been boarded over to protect the kids’ heads from any stray nails holding the shingles – but there were some pretty significant cracks – allowing the perfect space for a swarm of bees to take up residence, and call the place home. Once a swarm starts drawing comb and takes up residence in a cavity – it’s no longer a swarm – but a colony. These take MUCH more time to remove than a simple swarm.
After removing these bees – my next call was for a swarm pick up. This was a fairly easy and simple pick up, I took my last swarm-trap box that I had available to capture this one. The queen was an easy catch! The bees had swarmed from the tree in the background. The mother-hive is still very active at the base of the tree. The homeowners will be removing the tree later in the year – as it has died. I’ll be called back to remove the mother hive when the time is right.
My next call was for a swarm that had just moved into a yard that morning. Within 2 miles of the first swarm for the day. On my way to swarm #2 – I encountered ANOTHER swarm crossing the road. (Why did the bees cross the road?). I stopped, and applied a few drops of lemongrass oil to a frame in my hand-built Bee-Vac collection box. Sure enough – the bees smelled the LGO and collected. Once again – this queen was an easy find and catch. Swarm #2 becomes Swarm #3… The last stop for the day was to pick up the bees from the squirrel habitat. I unscrewed the box from the cage, and stapled screen to cover the opening of the habitat box. Easy! Those ladies got to ride shotgun with me in the car! Then – yesterday – the bees from the removal decided that they didn’t like the box that I had placed them in to. They swarmed in front of me while I was assembling more frames. It was a disheartening sight. Every last bee left the box in a mass-exodus. Luckily for me – they gathered within about 10 minutes in a nearby tree – and I was able to re-collect them and put them into another box – with a queen excluder under the box – so that the queen cannot leave the premises.
Next… Caldwell Elementary school had what was thought to be a swarm of bees in a tree at the exit to the school. I arrived in time to collect the bees before school dismissed for the day. This collection wound up turning into a removal – as it was revealed after removing some of the bees that they had already started drawing comb. The bees were still well-behaved, though – and are currently with the other swarm catches – in quarantine while their demeanor can be ascertained. I’ll be building more boxes this evening – as I have 3-4 more removals and captures to complete.
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