Oak tree looks sick

[AJStrees]

On 18/08/2019 at 17:27, Toad said:

We had a nest of bees a significant way up a large beech which had died and was at risk of falling into the road, we blocked the entrance for them and had someone cut the tree off about 8' above the entrance into the bees nest. Sadly it turned out to be hollow a long way up the trunk and we now have two colonies of bees, one in the stem with a hessian and corrugated tin roof and one in the felled stem on the ground with a new plywood front door.

How are your bees doing now? We have a very large old oak with a perfect size hole in it. A colony of bees have lived in the tree for years. Its a great thing to see. The more bees the better I say. 

[Toad]

17 hours ago, AJStrees said:

How are your bees doing now? We have a very large old oak with a perfect size hole in it. A colony of bees have lived in the tree for years. Its a great thing to see. The more bees the better I say. 

Not too bad. They inhabit both sections so I assume there is a queen in both. Hopefully we can protect them and keep them going for some time.

[AJStrees]

27 minutes ago, Toad said:

Not too bad. They inhabit both sections so I assume there is a queen in both. Hopefully we can protect them and keep them going for some time.

is it honey bees that are living there? If not do you know what species it is? I have started creating some honey bee hives in the Orchard on the estate I manage. Great fun looking after bees and they are quite self sufficient. Quite a fascinating subject. 

[Toad]

4 hours ago, AJStrees said:

is it honey bees that are living there? If not do you know what species it is? I have started creating some honey bee hives in the Orchard on the estate I manage. Great fun looking after bees and they are quite self sufficient. Quite a fascinating subject. 

Yeah, think so. They look like honey bees and you can see the honeycomb when the bit of wood isn't on the open end of the trunk on the floor. One of our new neighbours is an apiarist so might get her to try to liberate some honey.

[AJStrees]

7 minutes ago, Toad said:

Yeah, think so. They look like honey bees and you can see the honeycomb when the bit of wood isn't on the open end of the trunk on the floor. One of our new neighbours is an apiarist so might get her to try to liberate some honey.

Nice. You could probably get some good photos of the bees in their natural environment. That would be quite special. Don't know about getting honey from a wild nest, but could be wrong. Back in the olden times honey hunters used to cut trees down and destroy the nests to get the honey. How things have changed. 

[arran barnett]

Its a shame Evan. Every good surveyor/consultant knows that stoney ground is the worse type of soil for tree roots. Trees on soils like this often give subtle clues regarding their stability. The trees life could have been prolonged considerably with a crown reduction. Its a valuable tree.

Im 18, apprentice arborist, you say a crown reduction could have seriously helped, is that so there is less weight up there?
Cheers

[Paul Cleaver]

18 hours ago, arran barnett said:

Im 18, apprentice arborist, you say a crown reduction could have seriously helped, is that so there is less weight up there?
Cheers

Yes it would of helped, as the roots cant get a firm enough anchor on ground such as this. A better scenario, is when you have large rocks with deep fissures, then trees have a chance to get deep into these fissures and get a better anchor. 

[arran barnett]

Yes it would of helped, as the roots cant get a firm enough anchor on ground such as this. A better scenario, is when you have large rocks with deep fissures, then trees have a chance to get deep into these fissures and get a better anchor. 

Thanks Paul for the quick reply, and for the info! Glad I can still learn while college is closed!! I completely understand what you’re saying, sounds just like rock climbing cams and hexs.