Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Found a Honey Bee Hive Today

Today my brother and I cut down a Maple tree for firewood. He cut the tree into firewood sized pieces. When I came back to help split, I noticed the bee hive inside the log. It was probably about 25-30' up inside the tree.



We tried to save the hive. I set the hive on top of a hay bale then put another on top.




It was 15� today, it might hit 0� tonight. What do you think their chance of survival is?

Carry it inside to keep it warm.

Made me spit beer you did.

Don't know anything about bee-keeping, but I bet you gave them more insulation than they had...

Will be interesting to see if they make it...

Do bees leave the hive in Winter, like on nice sunny days.?

Someone must know a lot more about bees than I.
I'd think they need some air.

I can tell more about that IH 46 baler in the background.
A lot of work being on the backside.

you made me laugh SEdge!

If you look closely I stuck a piece of pallet between the log and the top bale. I figured if they make it they won't be trapped inside.

The baler hasn't been used in at least ten years.

PM ScottF, he knows what you need to ask....

Is that going to be a good place for the hive when it gets warm again?

But I don't know what questions I need to ask... grin

I stacked the whole shabang on a pallet so the bale with stay dry and I can move it if need be.

If there are live bee's in it make sure you leave a place for them to carry bad stuff out and dump it, a small crack at the bottom is fine.

I left a 1/2" crack in the top ( I set pallet board on one side of the log, then put the bale in top.) I figured they could crawl out. They might be able to exit on the bottom through the crevice between the bales. But I was more concerned about the cold air blowing up into the hive. Do they need to go out the bottom?

That's cool Ben, nice job with the hive. Hope the bees make it!

I'd be more concerned about he heat leaving via the upper vent.

Just came in from morning chores, was 8� this morning.

The upper "vent" shouldn't be too bad. Its a bee sized tunnel maybe 4-5" long. I guess we'll just have to see how it does.

Heat rises.

How did the bees react? Are they still working the comb and active?

This time of year, the bees should be balled up, preserving heat with minimal activity. Any time they get cold, they have to work more and consume more of their limited food stores.
They typically won't exit the hive until it gets to around 50F or so. On warm winter days they'll need an exit so they can go out on cleansing flights. But keeping them insulated is more important. Leave any openings on the bottom only. High openings are better when its hot out.

If you contact your local bee keepers association they probably have a member who will come and get the hive and make sure they make it. My neighbor used to do bee rescue. He had all his equipment in his truck at all times.

My Dad had bees for a while and this is how I remember he recovered wild hives.

You need a bee keepers outfit to protect you from stings, a smoker, and a starter hive if you want to capture the hive.

The smoker is sort of like a bellows with a place to hold a smoldering fire. You use it to fill the hive with smoke and the bees will eat a bunch of honey which will make them happy so you can handle them.

Then you open up the starter hive and gently scrape the bees from their current hive into their new house. You have to make sure that you get the queen. I think starter hives have one way doors so the bees can enter, but not exit. That way once the queen and most of the bees are in the new home the remaining bees will join them. You might want to put them in a warm space so the rest of the bees can move to their new home.