BEES WITH A SWEET TOOTH

deWayne and I recently participated in a dual bee removal on the balcony of a dentist's home.  It's not uncommon to find two seperate hives in the same area, during seasons of swarming. This is the second job of this season that involved two colonies within the same home. We prepare our work station by spreading the plastic in between the two colonies.

Bees must keep the colony warm to assure the queen continues to lay eggs.  In this picture, deWayne is using a small gadget called a heat detector. 

In this picture deWayne is using another gadget called a stud-finder.

When all else fails...there's nothing like the good ole' fashion way of locating honeybees!

deWayne begins to gently try and remove the wood from the balcony.

Crow-bars are a necessity in bee removals!

Almost there, just a few more wiggles!

And there it is, the original hive.  The honeycomb was very brittle and contained no honey.  There was a little pollen and brood, but not much.

Another picture of the colony.

Since we have two hives, deWayne and I agree that I should remove this one and he will remove the other one.

I begin to remove the bees using the bee vacumn.

And cut away the honeycomb, one slice at a time.

With one more piece to go, we finally reach a bit of honey!

With all the honeycomb removed, deWayne begins to caulk and patch up the hole.  He reminds me of a surgeon, when the job is complete, you can't even tell he's been there!

Getting ready to replace the board.  deWayne is an excellent "fixer-upper!" 

Job is complete, now to move to the end of the balcony and start on number two.

This is the honeycomb that was removed from the first colony.  It's quiet dark, dry, and brittle.

Here we go again...part two.

With a beekeepers instinct, and a few gadgets, deWayne feels he has spotted the new colony.

He double checks by placing his ear to board, and listens for the buzz!

deWayne drills a "peep-hole" just to make sure he's right, and like always...he's dead on top of the colony!

Cutting through this wood was extremely difficult, but finally he's able to make a good cut.

And cut....and cut...

Until finally, he's able to get inside the hive.

Here is the newest colony and it's dripping with sooooo much honey!  Good thing they're in a dentist home, I think these bees have a sweet tooth!

Here is the area, vacumned and sealed up, ready for closure.

A few minor adjustments....

This honeycomb is huge, and tasted so divine!

Project complete!

Bee basket is removed from the bee vacumn bucket, and we were thrilled to have found the QUEEN!

This is the honeycomb collected after the second removal. 

A sweet little Bumble Bee decided to join in on the action!


Thanks to our dear friends, Bill & Lisa Owens of GEORGIA BEE REMOVALS for this referral!!