I had a really bizzare thing happen today - it is NOT supposed to happen according to the books, but...
I was splitting wood this afternoon, when I heard this loud SPLAT from behind me, sounded like a giant mud ball hitting the ground - I went over and found a BIG chunk of honey comb on the ground, with several other smaller peices nearby, and a lot of rather irritated honeybees. Fortuneately I'm a beekeeper, so I ran inside and put on my suit, then gathered up some of my spare parts enough to make a sort of improvised hive, and went back out and scooped up as much as I could find and put it in my improvised hive.
I then started looking for where this honeycomb came from - NORMALLY honey bees never build on the outside of anything, only inside a hollow tree or other structure where they can protect it. But then the comb wouldn't have fallen, unless the hollow was falling apart - but I didn't see any sign of that sort of debris on the ground.
I finally spotted the colony, it is VERY far up in an oak tree, looking like they started inside a small hollow at a fork, and then out grew it.
I would like to get the hive down so that I can capture it (I can use the queen among other things) but I don't have any climbing gear or experience - I haven't been up a tree since I was a little kid :coolsmile:
Anybody have climbing gear / experience that lives near Billerica MA? I can supply partial bee protection for 2 people besides myself - (and where I think the cut would want to be made is well below where the colony is) I'd even be willing to go up the tree if you can show me how...
Gooserider
I was splitting wood this afternoon, when I heard this loud SPLAT from behind me, sounded like a giant mud ball hitting the ground - I went over and found a BIG chunk of honey comb on the ground, with several other smaller peices nearby, and a lot of rather irritated honeybees. Fortuneately I'm a beekeeper, so I ran inside and put on my suit, then gathered up some of my spare parts enough to make a sort of improvised hive, and went back out and scooped up as much as I could find and put it in my improvised hive.
I then started looking for where this honeycomb came from - NORMALLY honey bees never build on the outside of anything, only inside a hollow tree or other structure where they can protect it. But then the comb wouldn't have fallen, unless the hollow was falling apart - but I didn't see any sign of that sort of debris on the ground.
I finally spotted the colony, it is VERY far up in an oak tree, looking like they started inside a small hollow at a fork, and then out grew it.
I would like to get the hive down so that I can capture it (I can use the queen among other things) but I don't have any climbing gear or experience - I haven't been up a tree since I was a little kid :coolsmile:
Anybody have climbing gear / experience that lives near Billerica MA? I can supply partial bee protection for 2 people besides myself - (and where I think the cut would want to be made is well below where the colony is) I'd even be willing to go up the tree if you can show me how...
Gooserider