Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees

[Lone]

Jose swapped me a beehive for a van a few years ago then yearned to keep bees again.  So I split off a nuc for him.  12 months passed and he never touched it except to face an empty double deep to the entrance of the nuc.  I do not have another 5 frame nuc box, so to regain the use of my nuc box I then had to sort out the mess that was Jose's Hive.

The set up:



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First I had to clean the honeycomb and bees from the lid and the top of the frames:



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I did not know what to expect or what I'd find in the empty supers - lovely capped honeycomb with a little pollen.  A few beetles on the pollen but not a problem:



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They were lovely quiet bees.  But were they everywhere! 



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I didn't try to look for the queen and risk losing her.  There was mainly capped brood and very few eggs.  I slipped the 5 frames into the new box quickly, but she could have been anywhere.  But last week when I checked, there were signs of a queen and a thriving hive.



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The moral of this story is , if you give Jose bees, you will end up with pictures that show you how not to keep bees.

Lone

[buzzbee]

I'm surprised they chose to store honey in the detached hive bodies.Quite an interesting setup,to say the least. :)

[AllenF]

I find that amazing also.  I would never have thought it.   But I guess it worked.

[bud1]

that jose kinda like me, dont sweat it if it works

[Nico]

Lone if Jose's hive was on the roof in that setup during cyclone Yasi it is unbelieveable.
Nico   

[Lone]

Buzzbee and Allen, you'd better move quick before Jose patents his set up.

Bud, you are quite right.  With my brand on the nuc box though, I didn't want to take the blame for all the swarms he's likely to throw to his neighbours.

Nico, we split it after the cyclone.  I guess when the next cyclone comes Jose will put a flower pot on or something to stop the lid blowing off.

Say nice things about Jose folks.  I'll send him the link so he can admire his beautiful bees.

Lone

[Lone]

I think I killed Jose's hive.   :'(

I am a bee murderer.  I had told Jose that I would supply the frames and foundation, and stick it on his hive so they wouldn't be so cramped, and then leave him to it.  But the day I went he was late getting back, and his wife had to get to work.  So when I found he had put an empty super on top, with 4 wired foundationless frames, I was not amused.  There was comb at all angles, and difficult to remove because of the wires. I made a real big booboo.  I tried to quickly cut it out while the super was still on top of the brood super.  It was a stinking hot day on top of an iron roof and honey went everywhere.  Bees were drowning in masses.  And I can't bear to think of all the honey that slipped into the brood.  It will be a miracle if the queen survived.  A couple of days later there were still bees dying, and some had swirled around, maybe absconded?

I have made many mistakes with bees, but that will be about the worst. You have never seen such a mess.  Those poor bees didn't deserve to die like that.  They were a real quiet and strong hive, too.  I don't hold out much hope for it, but I will check it when I have a chance. I took a photo before the mass destruction which I can post if I work out how to load it.  I know I should have removed the honey super before trying to cut the comb away, and probably left it till the bees deserted it at nightfall, but are there any other suggestions?  I certainly have learnt 'how not to keep bees'...and also that you can't teach old Joses new tricks.   :roll:

Lone

[D Semple]

I want to see a picture of the van you were will to swap for a beehive.  :-D

[Lone]

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This is the van after the school hijacked it for the street parade.  It is not normally a hippie van.
Some mechanic said he could fix it for 2 grand and without warning charged me over 5 grand for a new engine when I went to collect it, and it still didn't work.  First time I drove it there was no water in the radiator, and second time there was water in the transmission oil.  Then they charged me $150 for oil to flush the system out.  It stopped running on gas (LPG) and was running rough on petrol.  Someone said they would sell it for me so I made a sign and went to drive it to town when it broke down again.  That's when I bumped into Jose and got the beehive.  It cost him another 2 grand to get it going and that's only because he's a man and knows what to ask without getting duped.  I have been swindled by nearly every mechanic in town and have similar stories about most of them.  I wrote this up for a friend who was going to take this mechanic to a TV show about swindlers, but before that happened he tried a stunt on his own wife, and I guess her fury was enough punishment for all the people he's ripped off.

Well I might have the most expensive beehive in history, but I tell you, it was worth every cent.   :-D

Epilogue.  I now have a kia rio I got in good condition through the public trustee.  Above mechanic said if he was asked to look at a kia he'd say "I can see it from here", but I tell you, it's never broken down.

Lone

[Jim134]

that jose kinda like me, dont sweat it if it works

Hay Bud.......  

Jose's looks like another bee haveor to me!!

 :lau: :lau: :lau:


            BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)  

[Lone]

Update.  
The queen was lost that hot day along with most of the bees.  Jose wasn't worried that there wasn't a queen or eggs.  He wanted to wait and see how they went.  I introduced a frame of eggs which did no good.  Probably all the bees that were left by this time were my introduced ones.  I spoke to my mentor who said to tell him "It's my way or the highway".  I told him he'd be off down the Flinders Highway unless he left it to me and didn't try and do anything. (anything being some really unusual and odd things).  So I took it home and introduced two more frames of eggs and brood.  I saw the queen a couple of weeks ago and there are plenty of bees around the entrance now.  But he's not getting it back - yet.

Lone