Jean-Jacques Maury

Hi Fred,
would you have pictures of snake guards you know work? Thanks.

Brian,
so sorry about your bees; it is sad to see them go but you will get others! You might want to check your local cooperative extension and ask if they have people calling for bee/swarm removal. Catching a swarm and move it in your warre is not difficult but you have to prepare ahead of time. It is best to catch swarms early in the season - maybe April for you, not sure - to give them time to build up their new home before winter so be ready in March if you can. Trapping swarms is pretty unreliable but still fun to try and you don't need to use your hive as a trap, just make a box out any clean scrap wood you have. It's a good idea to save some brood comb for either method but watch for wax moth until you are ready (maybe you can save a few pieces in your freezer).
Good luck!

Richard Winkel wrote:Sometimes honeybees make bad decisions. Nature can be a bit cruel at times like that. Watch through the winter to see what happens.

In what way would that be a bad decision?

Hi Ed,
what a beautiful picture. I wish I were closer to investigate why they migrated outside. Building comb outside in itself is nothing unusual but there must be something interesting about that tree cavity. Have you returned to the site?

Lee,
thanks for posting this here. It is an important step and it does highlight something too often ignored in beekeeping discussions: the urgency to improve pollinator habitat as for example permaculture can help address. We have seen a decade of decline with honey bees and constant struggle for beekeepers, yet the focus is rarely on what the bees ingest or fail to obtain from the environment. On the other hand, there is no shortage of "sugar patties" recipes. This is the web of life being dismantled right in front of our noses. Same goes for the Monarch butterfly. Read the document - or better still, watch the bees foraging your garden!

3 ft off the ground; I don't know how people come up with such ideas? Might as well put them on your roof...Seriously, do you have a good chiropractor?

Hi David,
do you actually loose bees due to cold in Anjou?

Would you take a driving class because it says "Traditional Driving" or a fishing class because it says "Traditional Fishing". I won't even get into the "organic" part but I live near an "organic mechanic" so why not?
I am not making any judgement on the quality of the course, just commenting on the wording - maybe "Excellent Course for Starting Beekeeping"?

Hi Brian,
nice picture of your broken bee home. Hope they are still alive and protected. Essential oil will not entice the bees to move into your new hive. Early in the season (March probably) on a nice warm day, get in there and cut a piece of comb that has brood on it. Put that into your new hive. Then try to locate the queen - you will most likely need help for that. Move the queen on that piece of comb in your new box, set close to the trunk. If you cannot find the queen, move as many pieces of comb as you can out of the trunk. The rest of the bees (foragers included) will join the queen in the new box; that might take a while so be patient and leave the hive in place until the next day at least. See the video above to arrange your pieces of comb on the new frames temporarily. Get a experienced beekeeper to have a look after a few days to make sure things are going okay or post pix here. The most important is to get the queen in that new box.

Hi Nancy,
I don't use any chemicals in my hives either. I would not put bees in that equipment; I wonder how long it would take the bees to leave anyhow. This is potent and toxic stuff, I don't know how it will wear off over time so I wouldn't take a chance.