www.studiobeeproductions.com Sundays have always been a day of rest for me, but every so often, an emergency happens and I have to take exception to the rule, and last Sunday was one of those days. I got a phone call Saturday evening about a tree that was cut down, and when it hit the ground, bee filled the air. It has been my experience that whenever a tree has come down and bees are in it, the death clock for the colony begins ticking. It was for this very reason I took exception to my day of rest because immediate action was required, and any delay could only prove disastrous for the bees.
Every time I go out to wrangle bees, there is always an element of danger involved, it comes with the occupation. However, on this adventure, there was the added dimension of a chainsaw which can really prove dangerous. I have worked with and been around heavy machinery and saws for over 50 years, and I am very much aware of how potentially dangerous the tools we use to make our jobs easier are at the same time capable of doing terrible things to our bodies if things go wrong.
When I arrived at the site at about 10:45 in the morning, the bees had settled down quite a bit, but there were still bees flying around the entrance to the hive which was now in a new location, about 20 feet from it's origin. After assessing what needed to get done, I started the chainsaw and began cutting the tree to expose the hive. Within just a few minutes, I was staring at a hive that was at least 6 foot long and had over 30,000 bees in it. After removing 90% of the comb and a good number of the bees, I realized I was going to have to cut more of the tree to be able to remove and rescue the rest of the bees and comb. I fired up the chainsaw once again and removed another quarter section of the log gaining access to the bees and comb. It was at this point that the queen revealed herself and I caged her, set her to the side in the shade, and then vacuumed up the rest of the bees. By the time I had loaded the van up with my equipment and the bees and headed back to the abbey, it was just after 4:00.
It was on the ride back to the abbey that I realized I had not explained my plans for settling these bees and what I was going to do with all the honey that was removed with them. Because of that, I decided I shot a bit more video over the next two days and include it to give a clear idea of exactly what I do to settle bees after a removal.
Before you begin to watch the video, due to it's length, you may consider fixing yourself a bit of sustenance to go along with your morning libation. That way, you can eat, drink, and be merry while viewing yet another bee wrangling adventure. God's peace to all. Mr. Ed
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