At 09:40 AM 3/2/1999 -0500, you wrote:
 
A beekeeper in MD, who had stopped keeping bees, decided to start again
after we put some hives on his property.  He spotted a swarm (probably
ours) and grabbed a 5 gallon bucket.  Drilled some holes near the bottom
for an entrance.  End of the season, the bucket was doing better than our
nucs.
 
However, it was all wild comb, and like a skep, the only way to remove the
honey would have been to destroy or greatly set back the colony.
 
With the high humidity and temperatures, I thought that moisture buildup
would have been a problem.  He kept the lid down tight.  However, he did
put it in the woods in shade.
 
Certainly surprised me in how well the swarm did.  Not so happy about it as
a potential reservoir of mites, disease, etc. since it was virtually
impossible to work or inspect.
 
 
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