Chimney colony cutout at Llanfrothen GF
26 July 2011
This colony probably arrived on or about 5 July 2011. The combs were indicative of a nest growth of about three weeks, probably from a very large swarm.
Below left: The site showing the bee vacuum which takes the bees alive with surprisingly few casualties. Below right: the infested pot.
Below left: silicone seal cut through. below right: comb fixed to the lower rim of the pot.
Below: Top of nest. Three combs are visible. A further two are lower down to the left.
Below: the largest comb has been removed and is being freed of bees with the vacuum. This photo was taken by the householder Allison Wheeler.
More extreme beekeeping photos from this job.
Below: Nest removed. This photo was taken before application of Fischer's 'Bee Quick' and Dettol to the flue to repel bees.
Below: The lower opening of the cap is closed with mesh. The edges of the mesh are trimmed to the cap fits snugly.
Below: The brood combs were tied into National hive frames with rubber bands. Three full frames of brood were obtained. Fragments trimmed of would have constituted a further half frame.
Below: The upper box of the bee vacuum is a Warré hive box. To transfer the bees to the larger format National hive an adapter board was used. The box of bees was placed in the adapter. Bees can be seen at the entrance to the hive.
Below: Bees are attracted to the vent on the bee vac, indicating that the colony may be 'queen right'. This can be verified when the colony has settled down. If the vacuuming failed to take the queen, then the bees can raise a new one from eggs in the comb in the National. The Warré box was removed the following day and the hive closed up.
David Heaf's bee removals index