# Look at this exposed column-of-bees I will be removing soon



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

.

The customer texted me this photo today.

Very, very nice !!!!












http://s565.photobucket.com/user/La...eeping/Bee column Bartow_zpsmjvxmh8k.jpg.html


.


----------



## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

PatBeek said:


> .
> 
> The customer texted me this photo today.
> 
> Very, very nice !!!!




Wowzer.


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

.

HAHAHA, thanks for posting that photo properly.

I couldn't get the link to work !!!!

.


----------



## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

Make sure you get some pics of the removal if you can safely. That's quite a hive.


----------



## texanbelchers (Aug 4, 2014)

That sure will fill one of your top bar hives. You may want to split it from the get go.


----------



## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Wow! that says it all!


----------



## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Wholly.....................


----------



## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Turns out it's in a dollhouse everyone, it's not that big.


----------



## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

jwcarlson said:


> Turns out it's in a dollhouse everyone, it's not that big.


SMALL cell bees then!


----------



## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

Finally a bee picture I most definitely will be hanging in my office. Thanks PatBeek!


----------



## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

When did they take the photo...it looks like Christmas lights and stuff on the porch!


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

Yes, I will take plenty of photos and video the whole event.

I will be bringing at least two (and probably three) top bar hives that I use for removals.

I can already tell that the bee vac will be cranked up.

I will have my nine-year-old son accompanying me to video the event. 

Too bad I have a family get-together tomorrow. I want to tackle it before something happens, like a swarm, or house fire from those Christmas lights which surely aren't UL approved.


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

.

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt a live streaming bee removal starting at about 3-4 pm eastern.....for those of you weird and bored enough to partake. Here's the program I will be using. You'd have to download it and join me at patbeerescuer.


https://stre.am/

.


----------



## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

How did this removel turn out?


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

.

It was tough.

Bad small hive beetle infestation.

Got there today to clean up and pack up the hives, found a swarm that had absconded in a low tree in their yard.

Hived them in a small nuc and clipped one of the queens.

Then another abscond happened.

I caught them in a higher tree and clipped a small queen.

The first queen I caught, I think they killed her on purpose.

The second queen is in the hive I packed up tonight in a clip.

Oh yes, and most of the comb I had to throw away today because the small hive beetle infestation was so horrible....and why they absconded multiple times, IMHO.

Multiple queens and small hive beetles make for a nightmarish removal.

.


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)




----------



## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

That was a mess and a lot of trouble for sure.


----------



## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

Thanks for posting the video. I enjoyed watching it. I like to use these roller cages for my queens as the bees can't get inside and ball them. I do put a couple of workers in there with the queen. These come with a piece at the bottom that you remove and a mini marshmallow fits right in so they can eat through that and release her. I get them off ebay for really cheap but they take a few weeks to come in from China. I forgot to say that I use a floral wire to hang them from my topbars.


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

.

Pardon my ignorance with this issue regarding the bees balling the queen, but I've never had it happen before during a removal. 

I noticed that both queens they killed were very young and perhaps virgins. Is that a factor?

How could this type of action possibly benefit them?

.


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

What a mess doing it with topbar hives. If you were to use a Bushkill vac, you could start out right at the beginning with enough boxes to fit all the bees. And as soon as you vacuumed the bees they would be contained in your box with no loose bees crawling around. Because they are fully contained you can remove them the same day to your site. You could also build topbar boxes so that you could use a Bushkill vac and still get the bees onto topbars. That would give you the advantage of using the brood combining screen that come with the Bushkill. You would reduce your cutouts into one day affairs and not have to always return the next day to clean up the mess you leave behind.


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

.

I agree. I need to improve my vacuum situation immediately.

So are the Bushkills made specifically for Langs or do they have a container that's universal and can be emptied into any type of hive?

I'm also assuming that you can switch containers and also allow for ventilation with no bees escaping?.

And also a consistent vacuum pressure?

I'd be in heaven.


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

>So are the Bushkills made specifically for Langs or do they have a container that's universal and can be emptied into any type of hive?

They are. But you could later shake the bees into your topbar hive. You could also make an airtight lid for the topbar hive. 

Pat... for some reason you:
drive a gas combustion vehicle...modern technology.
own two smart phones...modern technology
post videos on YouTube....modern technology

but insist on beekeeping and doing cutouts with topbar hives...ancient technology. A Langstroth hive and a Bushkill vac are modern technology. Come to grips with this dichotomy and your life will be much easier.


----------



## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

odfrank said:


> >You could also make an airtight lid for the topbar hive.


This would be the best bet I think. I built a diy bee vac for my lang hives. It's two pieces. The bottom board has a hole where vaccuum hose enters. This is the 'In'. The other piece is a top with window screen across the full bottom, a hole at one end to accomodate a vaccuum hose ('Out' to the vaccuum), and a removable solid top. The solid top remains in place in use, then pops out during transport for ventalation. The hole in the bottom has a screen cover also for transport.

For a TBH, a solid top with gasket to seal, and a way to seal any other openings... then in the solid top, add a hole at each end, one in, one out. You need the side leading to the vaccuum to be screened to avoid sucking up bees, and the screen area should be larger that the hose inlet so the pressure is lighter, to avoid pulling bees against the hose and stopping the airflow. Once done, you'll have only bees in this box (and any frames you loaded prior to vaccuuming). I move the rest of the cut frames seperate and add them in at my destination.


----------



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

.

Thanks for the vac ideas, guys. Much appreciated.

By the way, I found a LIVE QUEEN in this hive today. I have no idea if it's the main queen and I never saw her or if it's one of the young (perhaps virgin) queens I placed in queen clips of which they killed (or so I thought).

Can queens play dead? lol.

Anyhow, it caught me by surprise today, to say the least. I thought I was going in to check to see if they were building queen cells from the supplies I gave them. No queen cells. They don't NEED any.

.


----------

