An Examination of a Feral Honeybee Colony for Parasites:
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All photos copyright 2001, David L. Green Unauthorized use prohibited
October 14, 2001, Stuckey, SC
Brood Comb Arranged in Hive
The comb was cut as carefully as possible with a utility knife and hive tool to manageable pieces, which were arranged in this box with some bits of burr comb to space them, allowing bees to access all the brood areas. This part is rather tedious, because the comb is both heavy and fragile, and is easy to break and drop, increasing the risk of killing the queen. I regard this queen as potentially a very valuable one, and was disappointed not to find her. It is quite difficult to do so in such a populous colony that does not have frames for normal hive manipulation. I have hopes yet of finding her; if not there is a slim chance they will raise a daughter from her brood. I did not see any eggs or very young larvae, but it is possible that there are a few such ones that could provide a new queen.
A few bits of comb have been placed on top, primarily to fill in space, then an excluder is placed on this brood area, and the upper box similarly filled with the rest of the honey-filled comb. I tried to get most of the bees in the lower box, by examining and then shaking each piece of honey-filled comb, because I don't want the queen in the upper box. This stirring will stimulate some egg laying by the queen so I will look for her evidence in a couple days. If necessary I can then move her to the lower box.