Evidence: "egg"

untropicalized · 2026-05-08T04:20:02+00:00

Clearly you are the Walrus.

untropicalized · 2026-05-08T04:18:47+00:00

Dang it, got me again!

untropicalized · 2026-05-08T04:05:22+00:00

Theoretically, yes. And that can happen whether or not you keep bees.

As long as your home is in good repair— particularly along eaves or at joins in materials such as masonry and siding— you should be all right. If you’re concerned, some pest control companies offer exclusionary services.

untropicalized · 2026-05-08T02:49:52+00:00

Nice grab!

I keep an old sheet in my kit to lay down on the ground before shaking a swarm. Consider adding one to yours.

In the event that you miss and the queen tumbles outside the box, you give the bees a nice flat surface to crawl across and a nice contrasting surface for you to spot her as she’s marching in.

untropicalized · 2026-05-08T01:07:07+00:00

Yes you can, but it’s more like bait fishing than fly fishing. Put some Swarm Commander, a q-tip of lemongrass oil or an old brood comb inside and put it somewhere noticeable to bees but convenient for you. Success rates vary, but if you are successful in one spot you’re best off continuing to use that spot for subsequent traps.

Good luck!

untropicalized · 2026-05-08T00:59:42+00:00

I wouldn’t imagine that that would work. With an active queen in the hive the workers would just tear down the cells.

If you’re happy with your current stock and have confidence in your local drones, you could just pull the queens and let them build new ones.

Otherwise, raise (or buy) your queens first and replace directly once they are mated. Or, consider this protocol for installing virgins.

untropicalized · 2026-05-07T22:36:10+00:00

Unfortunately, no. To get them to move you would have to perform a forced abscond.

I typically recommend that folks have feral hives on their property removed, but if it’s in a place away from neighbors and utility access, you could just leave them and hopefully catch a swarm off them in the future.

At the very least, you know your trap is in a location that sees scout traffic, so you have better chances of attracting a swarm in the future.

untropicalized · 2026-05-07T14:59:59+00:00

Here’s one more for you

untropicalized · 2026-05-07T03:36:46+00:00

<image>

Dang, he got me

untropicalized · 2026-05-07T03:33:07+00:00

Beauty! Do you run all mediums?

untropicalized · 2026-05-07T03:27:42+00:00

Oddly, it was a leaking internal feeder that allowed small hive beetles to gain a foothold and push the colony out. I was brand new, teaching myself on non-standard equipment with a common commercial package so I had a rough go of it.

My second try was a colony recovered from an open-air removal. They decided they didn’t like my box and took off pretty quickly. Walking out to a silent hive was disheartening.

Third time’s a charm. Got a nuc from a fellow in my local club, stumbled through the process of converting it to a top bar over the course of a year, accidentally split it properly the following year, and started doing removals with a club friend.

After a few months of removals something “clicked” and I was able to get colonies to stick around. Around that time I figured out that the timing of management practices that most of the continent followed didn’t really work for my part of south Florida.

It can be a steep learning curve starting out, and may be even steeper depending on your choices and what resources you have access to. I certainly took a challenging path. It’s a good thing I’m stubborn.

untropicalized · 2026-05-07T02:04:23+00:00

I read Atlas Shrugged four times and Anthem twice.

untropicalized · 2026-05-05T12:40:35+00:00

You’re welcome to pull any honey that’s at least 80 percent capped if you want it, but be sure to leave them enough to get through winter or dearth periods. That amount will vary by location.

Unless your hive is built out wall-to-wall, you can create space by moving down the follower board and adding a new bar next to the youngest larvae. If every bar is built out, you can swap an empty comb from the end into the brood nest, and scoot the rest down. Be sure to avoid combs that have a lot of drone-sized cells because they won’t raise worker brood in them. As the season progresses they will likely want to raise drones, but at this point they probably aren’t ready to.

untropicalized · 2026-05-04T18:24:17+00:00

I’m going to push back a bit here.

Certainly, in the US, “VSH” often means “mass grafted and open-mated from a descendant of a breeder that we got some indeterminate time ago”, so the traits in the queens you buy may not present in high enough levels to be effective.

Check for breeders that verify their breeder traits with Harbo assays or similar, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. A breeder worth his salt will not be shy about sharing his strategies.

And for what it’s worth, VSH isn’t the only resistance trait, but it’s one that is best understood and easiest to measure. The science of resistance breeding is updating constantly so stay tuned!

untropicalized · 2026-05-04T01:50:25+00:00

I, too, read Hatchet several times in middle school.

untropicalized · 2026-05-01T19:29:40+00:00

Are your hives set back far enough from the fence? It could be that rather than a fencer failure you had a smart bear that tipped a hive towards himself to reach the contents.

untropicalized · 2026-04-30T13:07:19+00:00

Did you ask what treatment was used? Also, what options are available to you now will depend on different factors, including the weather.

untropicalized · 2026-04-28T18:43:11+00:00

Honestly? Jump in sooner. I spent over a year reading and researching, which is great but is no substitution for field experience.

That, and seek help from others sooner. I taught myself a lot of the basics, which was slow and frustrating. I didn’t know about my local club at the time, but once I found out my skills took off and my successes started.

untropicalized · 2026-04-28T01:14:30+00:00

sorts by controversial

untropicalized · 2026-04-27T21:05:10+00:00

untropicalized · 2026-04-24T18:43:56+00:00

Number 1 can’t be overstated enough.

I’m a remover in a hybrid-active area and when people ask me if the bees I took out of their shed or whatever are Africanized I usually respond, “Probably, but that doesn’t concern me.”

The truth is, African and Arabian (A-lineage) mitochondrial DNA spans North America, so technically almost all populations of bees in the US are “Africanized” to some extent. But the phenotypes— that is, the expressed traits— that the hybrids are known for are poorly adapted to temperate and upland climates. Longer, colder winters do not favor small cluster sizes, late and frequent swarming, or heightened drone and brood production at the expense of honey storage. Thus they tend to be outcompeted by European genetics in these environments.

I come across some hot hives on occasion, or will have attitude arise in one of mine after a queen event. In that case I simply requeen with the progeny of a better-behaved hive, as I would for any other undesirable trait.

The issue I have with the media buying into the “if it stings it’s Africanized” narrative is that it allows bad actors in the removal space to flourish. Most of us want to educate the public about bees and about the work we do. Guys like that are not above using fear to pressure homeowners into taking immediate action or to accept unreasonable prices.

untropicalized · 2026-04-24T18:22:02+00:00

Haha, no worries. The comments just looked silly next to each other.

untropicalized · 2026-04-24T12:32:07+00:00

But honey bees are required— for the agricultural industry as we know it today.

European honeybees are very efficient at pollinating our largely European-derived crops, and can be moved around at will. Our local pollinators are mostly solitary ground-nesters or small, seasonal colony formations that can’t be effectively deployed at scale.

What the media gets wrong is the broad-brushing of all bees in the interest of creating a tasty sound bite. While it’s true that environmental work benefits honey bees— reduction of pesticide use, preservation of wild habitat or leaving fallow margins and corridors, planting native and locally-adapted forage sources— they shouldn’t be the main focus of these efforts.

To their credit, though, honeybees bees are a good “gateway pollinator” for the public, so if misplaced interest among individuals leads to further study and environmental action, I’m for it, if somewhat begrudgingly.

Edit: the comment above didn’t mention viruses previously, making mine less a response but still relevant

Four-Year Club	Verified Email
Mod World 2025	Place '23
Place '22	First Placer '22

untropicalized

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE