Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: crispy on August 11, 2020, 08:26:07 pm
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Hi all havent posted much lately as not much has been happening but thats all about to change , i recieved notification yesterday that in around 2 weeks i will be picking up my nucleus of bees from the breeder bit early ,i thought it was around the 14th but doesnt matter ,anyway here is my question how secure are the nucleus boxes ? the reason i ask this question is these little suckers are going to have to travel inside the car with me and the last thing i want is to be travelling at a 100kmh and have some little friends flying around inside my car .I was going to email the breeder but i thought i would ask here first i believe the box is one of those coreflute thingies cheers .
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I would take a belt or strap to tie around it just for insurance, but relax. I have carried them many times with a hundred or more in the cab of the truck with me and have never been stung by one. They try to stay at or near the windows , wanting to get out. Don't swat at them or slap at them. Just drive normal and leave the doors open after unloading. If one lands on you and you ignore it, it will just rest a bit and fly away.
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When I move my nuc boxes I staple the tops and bottoms to the box itself just as JP and Schawee does on a cutout. Then I staple regular window screen on the entrance. You won't lose a bee. Actually in reverse order.
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The Hive Doctor corflute nucleus boxes have fairly secure locking tabs you have to press in to open the lid but some of the others don't have that feature.
Duct tape is your friend for extra security while moving them, I put them in the passenger foot well so they don't come off the seat or rock around.
Also keep them out of the sun until you are able to put them where you want them and open the entrance, mist some water over the vents to keep them hydrated.
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Hi all thanks for the replies the bees cant be picked up until 5pm so its going to be dark then as the breeder has said all the foregers will be back in the hive by that time so no lost bees , i will take some duct tape with me and also my bee suit just in case .You know its funny now if i have a bee land on my jacket i dont try to swat it i just let it walk around or sit there and i have even had one crawl onto my finger ,my workmates think im nuts they say look out theres a bee on your jacket before i would have been swating it or trying to get it off but now i just let them be bees .
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i will take some duct tape with me and also my bee suit just in case .
Well OKay but it is going to be tough putting that suit on traveling 110kph down the road. LOL If you find a bee or two in the car it doesn't mean you have a leak in the box. When visiting any bee yard it is not unusual to pick up some hitch hikers.
I remember picking up my bees with a friend who was suppose to be a seasoned bee keeper. There was one or two bees loose in the car and he was freaking out. Good thing I was driving but he made me nervous. I was an absolute newbie. I can laugh about it now.
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By now you have probably picked up your bees but for anyone else planning on having bees in your car here is my recommendation.
If they are in the vehicle I strongly recommend strapping them and put the Nuc in a net bag. You can buy a net bag with a draw string that is designed for carrying laundry. Get one with small holes.
Now, I totally agree with Iddee about it not being a problem when the bees get out of the hive and after doing bee removals, I usually end up with a few bees in the cab of my truck. Being a first responder I see a lot of accidents.
If you end up in an accident, the bees act very differently when they get banged around and there sisters are injured or killed. The passengers will bee under full assault in and around that vehicle.
I strongly recommend not putting them inside the vehicle without some way of making sure they are restrained even after the box is bounced from one side of the vehicle to the other several times.
Jim Altmiller
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Thanks jim that has just resolved a question i had ,a while ago i thought of making a bee bag for that very reason but was not sure how big the box is . I will have a look at what i can find at the local shopping centre.