I live near Wichita, KS.  A farm near me has a lot of junk lying about.  A
hive of feral bees has set up shop in an old car fuel tank.  The owners
report that for a few years they have seen bees working from the 4 inch
opening in the tank.  The tank is leaning up on a car at about a 60 degree
angle.  I have been watching the hive all winter and spring.  I am trying to
figure out the best plan to move these bees from this farm to mine.  And I
would also like to move them from the fuel tank to my Lang hive, or a Top
Bar Hive I made this winter.

Current activity: they have closed the opening from 4 in diameter to about a
3/4 in diameter.  1 or 2 gaurds at the opening, fanning. Bees are brining
pollen into the hive.  I have very little experience in evaluating feral
hives, but I'd say this is a small colony, and that there is a larger hive
nearby that we can't locate.  Am I correct in that there must be an active
queen in this hive? Since I see pollen comming in? Is this a convienient
location to swam to, that just cannot support a colony?

Winter Activty:  When temps climbed about 50 degrees we saw some bee
activity (We could look down the opening of the tank and see them busying
about).  I set out 1:1 sugar surup for them, and I saw a few bees sample it.
  But the winter activity ceased as the temp got progessively lower at
night. We assumed that they had frozen out when on days it climbed back
above 50, we saw no activity.  We also didnot see any activy all spring,
till about 1 week ago.

I'd guess that if I was to open the tank now I would see much empty (robbed)
comb, and a small area of queen activity and some capped honey.  If i opened
it now to inspect, I could cut actve comb out and transplant it into a Top
Bar hive?  Or would these bees revolt? The other option I have considered is
just moveing the tank to my farm and monitering them more closely this
summer, and attemping to lure them into another hive.

Any thoughts?  Thanks in advance.

ABW

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