Keoni used to help us do removals. He called a while ago and said he had bees in his wall/fence. We were very busy at the time and he said he would wait. When we opened the wall we say a fairly large hive. Most of the comb was very dark, so it had been there over 1 year. There was lots of honey and brood. These girls didn’t like being bothered and there were a lot of them. I was sure I was going to get stung, but I didn’t!
We have taken two hives from under this shed in the past. So when the woman called and said there were more we went to take a look. The shed is filled with heavy metal working equipment, and small engines. The bees were under the shed about halfway back. The way this shed is built I think it could withstand a direct hit from a hurricane. We told her we couldn’t help unless she moved the stuff. We have to go through the floor because it is only about 4 inches off the ground. She said that she couldn’t weed whack around the shed because of the bees. We offered to do it and move the sheet metal that was leaning up against it.
This guy called and said someone had abandoned a beehive in the back yard of a house he was trying to sell, could I remove it. I took a look at the situation, and found that someone had put a nuc {the white box in the bottom of the picture} next to an entrance bees were using to get into the wall. I used my infrared camera and saw that the bees covered from floor to ceiling. We came back and took care of the job. We had guessed that the hive had been there a long while because it was so big, when we opened it up we saw nothing but black comb. That means the bees have been there years. We cut and scraped comb and put the brood into a nuc. For as large as the hive was I was surprised there weren’t more bees.
The Board of Water Supply said they had bees in a meter box. What they didn’t say was that the meter box was huge! We opened it and saw almost black comb. That meant the bees had been there for at least a year. They filled the whole box. We could tell the queen was old because of the laying pattern. I hope they are able to make a new queen and survive, they were very mellow. When I first walked up to the box I couldn’t even see it, it was covered with weeds and trash about ankle deep
A Kamado is a older Japanese version of The Big Green Egg. In fact that is where the idea came from. Many people in Hawaii have the Kamado’s because of their Japanese ancestry. A few even have ones that aren’t cracked. Very few have more than one, this guy had TWO in great shape. The bees had gotten into a box he used for storage of extra stuff he had around. He believed they had been there about a week, and they looked like it since they had built comb. It was getting dark when I got there and put them in the nuc. They were tired after a long day of nectar gathering so they calmed down and went into the box fairly quickly.
She has helped with a swarm before, but this was much larger and in a cabinet. She is a real trooper! She wanted to get in there and do it, with instruction of course. IfShe has helped with a swarm before, but this was much larger an in a cabinet. She is a real trooper! She wanted to get in there and do it, with instruction of course. It you look closely you will see our very expensive beekeeping tool we use to scoop bees with. This was such a large hive we decided to leave them overnight and get them the next evening. you look closely you will see our very expensive beekeeping tool we use to scoop bees with. This was such a large hive we decided to leave them overnight and get them the next evening.
That is what the woman said when she told me there was a swarm in her cabinet on the lanai. I will admit it was a large swarm, and they had built some comb, but it was not millions. I scooped and scooped bees, they finally got into the box.
When bees swarm they send out scouts to find a good place to live. Well the scouts found this place. It is a crossfit step box. These girls were not happy I was moving them. They buzzed me and kept it up till I got all of the comb moved into the nuc. After that they calmed down and moved in.
Swarms shouldn’t be happening this time of year, but they are. I am wondering if all of the construction is causing problems. This one was on a very large branch so I couldn’t just shake them into the nuc. I had to use my very special beekeepers tool, (a fast food cup). These girls were putting wax onto the branch to hold on. When I put most of them into the nuc everyone else followed quickly.
Bees like dark, closed in spaces, and people find it surprising that they find a great place to live in compost bins. This one had been there about 2 weeks, there was even brood.