By: Jackie Currie and David Arnal
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2021 issue of BEEKeeping Your First Three Years
Our local club, the Beaufort-Jasper Beekeepers Association, meets monthly at the Coastal Discovery Museum located on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We gather to learn beekeeping skills and share our stories. The President of our Association, David Amal, tends the hives on-site, and we usually inspect these hives each time we meet to gain practical beekeeping experience.
This past Spring we had a project of great interest come our way. David was contacted regarding a bee removal on the Island and discovered it was an open air nest, teeming with bees. Knowing that removing it would be a great learning experience, he presented the opportunity to remove the colony to the bee club. We eagerly responded and about two weeks later, several of us headed over to the location, bringing along extension ladders, ropes, saws, and smokers.
(Fig. 1) The nest was located 20 feet high in a live oak tree.
The nest was in a live oak tree, hanging from a limb about 20 feet off the ground (Fig. 1). The nest was substantial, about eight combs in size and very quiet with only a few bees flying in and out. We positioned a ladder and climbed up for a closer look and discovered a handful of calm bees on the combs and two open queen cells (Fig. 2). There didn’t appear to be any brood present – the bees had apparently swarmed since David’s initial visit.
(Fig. 2) A closer look revealed a handful of calm bees and two open queen cells.
Back on the ground, we discussed possible reasons why the bees had chosen to build their nest in the open. The western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is a cavity dweller. Thus when a colony swarms, they almost always move into what they would consider to be the most ideal choice for a new home; one that provides protection from the elements, has enough inner space for the construction of adequate comb for brood rearing and food storage, and has a small nest entrance that can be easily guarded2. However, on rare occasions, A. mellifera will construct a nest in the open. 1,3 The Africanized honey bee (Apis mellifera scutellata) is even more likely to have an exposed nest, but in more temperate climates, these open-air colonies usually do not survive the colder Winters.3 The Winter had been mild this year so these honey bees had survived.
We then got down to the business at hand. The roof was too steep from which to work, so we braced a second ladder against a large limb of the tree. We looped the ropes over higher limbs, and tied them off close to the nest. David climbed up with a hand saw and cut through the limb about three feet from where the nest was attached. We then lowered the nest to the ground, taking care not to damage the fragile combs.
Once down, we inspected the nest more closely and discovered it to be beautiful (Fig. 3). We confirmed no brood was present in the outer combs and then directed our attention to two swarm cells. One was split up the side and the other was open on the bottom. This evidence seemed to suggest that the surviving virgin queen had emerged, possibly returned from her mating flights, but the prime swarm had left her behind with only a handful of worker bees.
(Fig 3) On the ground inspection confirmed no brood present on the combs.
We were certain the nest would make an ideal home for the virgin’s colony or a replacement colony, so we cut the limb to a more manageable length and carefully loaded it into a truck bed for transport. We had originally planned to bring the nest back to the Coastal Museum apiary, but lacked necessary equipment at that location. Instead, we took it to one of David’s bee yards where member James Walker and David constructed a nest box out of plywood and scrap lumber. Openings were cut for the limb’s ends and an outer cover was made. Within a few hours, the combs were hanging in the new brood box, hoping that the colony had a queen (Fig 4).
In fact, the colony did have a queen and developed nicely over the rest of the season and overwintered successfully. Our long term plan is to remove the colony from these combs and donate the original nest to the Museum where it can be put on display. We all learned so much from this unique experience (Fig. 5) and know all who see it will surely marvel at the beautiful handiwork of the honey bee!
(Fig. 4) Newly constructed brood box with hive in place, built by club member James Walker (shown) and David Amal.
(Fig. 5) Team members, left to right: David McAlister, Pam Swift, David Amal, Nancy Hibbitt, Jackie Currie, and James Walker.
REFERENCES:
Schneider, Stanley S. “The Honey Bee Colony: Life History.” The Hive and the Honey Bee. Revised Edition. Hamilton, IL: Dadant & Sons, 2015.
Seeley, Thomas D. “The Nest.” The Lives of Bees. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019.
“Basic Bee Biology for Beekeepers”. Fact Sheet. MAAREC Publication 1.4: beehealth.extension.org; The MidAtlantic Apiculture Research & Extension Consortium, 2004.
