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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
"Hollen, Fred L." <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 21 Sep 2005 08:41:30 -0400
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Just a bit to confuse the issue:  Yesterday (20 September) I removed a feral colony from between the first-floor ceiling and the second floor of a mid-1800's brick house.  It was accessed by removing the floor from above it, as the room below was finished and the floor above needed replacing anyway.  The bees' entrance was through cracks in the mortar above a first-floor window, on the eastern side of the house, and they occupied the space between one set of 2X6 joists which ran east-to west, thus perpendicular to the outside wall through which the bees were entering.

The combs extended about six feet back into the ceiling-floor area, and for about the first three feet were crosswise, perpendicular to the joists, thus running approximately north-south, and they came up with the floor boards as they were removed. At about the three-foot point, there was a zone of short, curved sections of comb, transitioning into combs about two feet long running parallel to the joists, thus more or less east-west.

It was a large colony, and the bees were quite gentle and easy to handle.  There was a good bit of capped brood and a small amount of open brood, and still quite a few drones for this late in the season.  I did the usual process of tying the combs into frames & dumping the loose bees into the hive body.  Regrettably, I did not find the queen; hopefully she was among the mass of bees, so this will be a wait & see situation.

I just thought this might "muddy the waters" a bit on the subject of comb orientation.

Fred Hollen

Shenandoah Valley, Virginia

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