Talk about weird timing
The other day I was going through the PYPT posts and came across a really cool one by @curtross about a swarm of bees just out in the wild. I really liked it and talked a bit with him about it.
Then yesterday we went to the dump and saw this in the woodpile.
Do you see what I see?
Yeah, a local beekeeper threw all of this out apparently. I don't know if it's any good or not, but there were tons of bees still in the boxes.
I talked to the guy at the dump and he said they are all still full of comb and honey.
That shouldn't attract too many bears.
Anyhow, @curtross, or anyone else that knows about this stuff, would they be diseased or something? Why would a beekeeper throw out hives and bees?
What could a non-apiarist do to save any of this from the inevitable fire? We have always wanted to keep bees, but live in town. I could keep it at my work though.
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That certainly does seem like a big waste of hives! I don't know enough about keeping bees to have any clue as to why someone would get rid of them.
I will go up on Friday and see if they are still there.
Holy shit. That’s crazy. Normally if there is live bees with a colony they are still viable. It’s possible they have “foul brood” which is a disease that kills bee larvae in essence killing the colony. It can be spread, so that may be a reason to toss it (and all affected bees) into a fire. Here is a link for a bit more reading: http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/animal-diseases/bees/what-to-do-if-you-detect-or-suspect-american-foulbrood
All of that said. I wouldn’t go try to capture the bees without someone experienced with you.
Okey dokey. I was wondering if I could just wrap myself in screen, but I will just stay away.
You are a brave man for considering it. I know lots of folks get comfortable around bees, but I’ll always get suited up for any real interactions with a hive.
As long as you be calm and cool about it, its no different then a dog, if you show fear, they may read your fear as malicious, and attack, But even then bees are not likely to attack, A bee knows that if it stings you, it dies, they dont sting unless they feel threatened and that they are about to die so they might aswell get you on the way out, i pick bees out of flowers in my garden and pet them often, i have never been stung. Bees really are peaceful animals unless you threaten them, aka swing at them etc, if you move slowly, and calmly pick up the hives, you wont get stung. myself, i would walk right on over to that hive and pick it up and take it home. without the screen, and then capture just a few and send away to a university for testing. Even if they have foul brood, they already have it, so taking them wont cause extra damage, those hives are their home, they are not going to run away and join another random colony and spread it. bees are territorial. so its not as tho you would be posing any risk of harm to wild bee populations. and if they are infected, they will die out, In which case, if that happens and they do all die, THEN you destroy the colony as the spores for the FB can stay viable as long as 50 long years and once those bees die if new bees find the abandoned colony and take it over it could spread to them.
Thanks for the information. I read it and I hope that it isn't that. Seems like a waste of life.
Glad to help. It’s a nasty disease.
hi @granolalight ... great to see the list of PYPT posts
is of help to others. Thanks for the comment where you found @curtross's post. We talked about that post for a while when he presented it. It was really interesting.
Yeah, we plan on having bees one of these days. Maybe sooner, now.
No beekeeper would just dump foul brood hives. They Must be burned! The equipment itself is worth a grand! Go get a suit at a local supply (a tyvek coverall will do) get permission from the dump (they will be glad to get rid of them) and reassemble the hives. Transport them to a safe place in a pickup, and open the hives, ONE at a time (open them all at the same time and they will fight) Recover all the hive equipment, and use the broken stuff as parts, to fix others.
This is probably from the family of a beekeeper that passed, or moved to a home, and the family did not share his passion. You can see pictures of foul brood online to be certain, but I have never seen this many hives infected at once.
There is likely a local beekeeper club that can advise, and maybe even help you move them. You are too far away for me to help directly but I will be happy to advise from here.
I will go and see if I can have a look when I am off work on Friday. It was the only real beekeeper in town that threw them there, as the attendant watched him do it. Unless there could be something else wrong with them. I have to go to town Friday anyhow, so I'll pick up a Tyvek suit and at least get some close-up photos to send you.
I really appreciate the help.
The equipment is worth cash, I do NOT understand why he would toss them! A beekeeper would Burn Foul Brood so scavenging bees would Not spread it!
You may find that the bees on the equipment are cleaning all the leftover honey off of it. and If that is the case, you likely will not need a suit. once the hive body is set up, you can add lemon grass oil, to lure in wild swarms.
I will wait to see the pictures.
:)We went there the other day but it was burned. I'm guessing that it was because of the bees. They burn the wood pile once a month and this was the second time this month.
Sad, they just burned a grand, that is a really expensive fire!
>:(That would have given you a good starter pac.