As Background: The city had gotten some complaints of bees living in the base of a dead tree right on a city sidewalk. They realized they were honey bees and put the word out to the local beekeepers to see if anyone could help move them - rather than kill them all. Thank you Washington DC - well played.
Toni is our neighbor here on Capitol Hill and is a fellow beekeeper. She is affectionately known as "the Queen Bee." She's the one they called, of course, and like only Toni can, she took charge and organized a half dozen or so of us to help.
A few days before, city tree trimmers had cut back the tree to just a trunk (I forgot to photograph the 10 ft. long rotten hole down inside the center of the tree!). When they had cut it back, someone stapled a bit of netting across the top to keep the bees contained during the project. In looking at where they chose to move, you have to give them credit - they sure had found a nice pad with lots of square footage right in a prime DC neighborhood.
We all met at the tree at 9 am. A beekeeper from PG County MD drove in with his pickup truck, city agencies were represented and all the white bee jackets made us look like a biohazard team. When I drove in past the road-cones, Julie objected; "Karl, the street is closed!" I thought my reply was funny; "I know honey, I'm part of the crew!" We parked in the middle of the street behind the tree shredder truck - just like detectives at a crime scene always do on TV!
The idea: cover the holes with screens so the bees (and especially the queen) would stay together in the tree, keep the tree (their hive) intact, move it into the bed of the truck drive them all to a monastery in NW DC. The gang would then crack it open, take out the queen and move her and her worker girls into a 'real' hive. (I had to get to work, and couldn't go up for that part... bummer!).
I have to say, I think we did a terrific job. The photos tell the story better than could, so here you go.
A screen covers the bees exit while a DC DDOT guy cuts the trunk off at the base (but PLENTY of bees are flying). There were VERY few stings (2 i think), given all the noise and activity.
Getting ready to crack the trunk off the root base...
That's me in the bed, helping to pull the trunk into the truck.
Toni and friend with their noses in the bees after they were loaded and covered with a tarp.
And finally, a small hive was set up on the stump to collect stragglers. A bit of sugar and some queen pheromone were put inside to help the bees feel at home. Later that night (when the bees were inside for the night) the box was collected and the girls were taken up to NW to be with Mom. A happy ending for all!
If any missed the evening trip up in the small hive, would they just join a local hive (like yours), or have to live on their own?
ReplyDelete@ Heather - No, sadly they would not. Every hive has a unique signature 'smell' and those lost bees would be met at the front door of my hive as if they were an attacking army. It would not be good for their health. In beekeeping, death of bees is part of it. When you have 40 to 80K in a hive, you can't really worry about the few that get squished, lost, stepped on, etc. Still, I bet nearly all of the bees went into the box set out for them.
ReplyDeleteKBM, I have to disagree with you there. Stragglers will be allowed into a strange hive. They can tell if the bee entering is aggressive or humble, and will react accordingly.
ReplyDeleteTo test it, shake the bees from a very weak hive in front of a few strong hives and watch the weak hive bees take up with the stronger hives. It is a common way of combining hives when one doesn't have the strength to survive on it's own.
Very cool! Thanks for the comment "95a0a6de-b..." I wrongly assumed a hive would see any outside bee as a robber. Your correction doesn't surprise me - bees always amaze me.
ReplyDelete