Bees nest external cones

[holdatcharlie]

Anyone seen this sort of thing before. Found it in an ash tree this summer. I think they must have been short of dormitory space!

 

[David Humphries]

That's cool, not seen it like that before.

 

 

 

 

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[sloth]

Fantastic, I wonder why they have done it? Definitely bees?

Is this on your ash tree Holdatcha? I noticed a question from you on another thread regarding working around bees and hornets, and whether to dust them: please don't! Especially bees, they have a hard enough time as it is with lack of flowers and excessive chemical use...

[Insy]

Hello,

 

There is 2 reasons i can think of this

 

1. There's a colony inside the trunk, but that looks alive so i highly doubt it.

2. A bee colony wild or from someones personal hive that season swarmed and landed on the tree, whilst they were residents there they build some comb with the stores they took from there previous home when leaving. They probably found a better suited environment to make their new colony and left to new location leaving the natural wax comb there.

 

But don't take my word on that im still new to beekeeping .

 

P.S. If you want to be brave and test to see if any bees are present near by, go purchase yourself some Pure Lemongrass Oil and dab a bit around that comb and see if any bees come to investigate, i had huge success this year using this stuff to lure bees into my nucleus.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Insy

[David Humphries]

Hello,

 

1. There's a colony inside the trunk, but that looks alive so i highly doubt it

 

 

 

Plenty of bee colony's inside live (hollow) trees.

 

Particularly oak and ash

 

.

[Insy]

Didn't know this well try the lemongrass trick then on a nice warmish day with good weather, but be prepared to move fast as they really love the smell of that stuff.

It won't do them no harm but bees are attracted to the scent, i used it to lure a colony of bees out of a cavity in a barn as i did not want to kill them and it worked.

[David Humphries]

Plenty of bee colony's inside live (hollow) trees.

Particularly oak and ash

.

 

Didn't know this .

 

got stung a few times taking shots and investigating a wee bit too close

 

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[Insy]

I love pictures like this beats a picture of a beehive with bees going in and out all day long, what would be awesome is if you could see there colony structure inside tho that's where the real beauty is.

[holdatcharlie]

Is this on your ash tree Holdatcharlie? I noticed a question from you on another thread regarding working around bees and hornets, and whether to dust them

 

Yes. Its one of mine. I have a large garden (1.1 acres) with fields on 3 sides. The hedgerows (mainly hawthorn, blackthorn, ash and rose) contains several large ash trees. Ash grows like weeds around here - but maybe not for much longer!

 

They are definitely bees and its a live tree. They have nested there a couple of years. Before that it was a starlings nest. The cones didn't stay there long. Something got them - squirrel, rook or magpie. I usually get wild swarms of bees in the shrubs. Got a local bee-keeper in one year as domestic stocks have been devastated. That was a laugh! Him up this hawthorn tree trying to isolate the queen (no - not that one) and persuade her to go into his box! Apparently if you do this the rest will follow.

 

Wouldn't dust bees but have wasps and hornets. they don't like their nests being cut by hedge-trimmers. they are straight at you!

[Insy]

Yes Charlie that's correct.

 

I removed one from a friends garden this year, they was hanging off a branch so i tapped the branch with my box underneath them and shut the lid after they fell in.

I then placed the box on the floor next to where the swarm was and waited to see if the rest of bees flying in the air went back to the branch or went in.

On the second time i managed to knock the queen in and after about 1 hour they was all inside tucked up in bed .

 

That exact swarm is currently sitting in my beehive at the moment.