I broke over a bee tree while bulldozing a new logging road two weeks ago. Every time we have gotten bee trees before we would cut the section of tree with the bees in it off and take it home. This time I am thinking of taking a brood box with a hole in the bottom and fitting it over the bee's entrance so they must come through the box to enter and exit. After the queen moves into the box and starts laying brood in it, I would plug the hole and set the box to the side of the log. The bees would then clean the old hive out of the log and be moved into the new hive. That's my theory anyway. Will it work? We will be cutting timber on this tract for the next 6 months so I have plenty of time to let them make the transition on their own, if they will.

Yes, it will but it'll take time and the bees are rarely in a hurry, lol.

Just be sure to close off routes in and out other than through the box. The box/entrance needs to be above the brood in the log. They prefer brood at or above entrance and not below. Baiting them up with drawn comb or better yet brood comb will help as well. Watch for them filling the box with honey/nectar and super or remove frames as needed.

I am pretty sure there is only one entrance, but I will make sure to pay attention to that when I am setting my box up. The tree broke off right below the hive and there was a large opening there the entire inside diameter of the hollow tree, about ten inches. The bees filled the entire opening with propolis and bee bodies, I had never seen bees do that before. I took a picture with my phone but I'm not sure i could get the loaded on here.

The problem I see is that your box placed over the entrance hole in the fallen bee tree is gonna make a separate area for brood. Bees want the brood chamber to be contiguous, not separated. I could see more success if the log was stood up and secured ( the comb is oriented that way), and have a box fitted over the upper end of comb inside the log. Bees want to move up.

Be aware that the queen may have not survived when the tree fell. When the tree hit the ground, comb can be dislodged and kills bees.

That is commonly referred to as a trap out - of which I have never had a trap out work. On my attempts - I have never had the queen move into my box.

I think the queen is still alive, the bees are still carrying pollen in and they are very active. Some hives in trees that I have cut down just seem to quit working and eventually die out, I assumed the queen was smashed when that happened. Some of the time the bees will be gone the next day before we can catch them but these have decided to stay.
I have been reading about the trap out method, but I dont think that's what I will be doing. The bees will be free to come and go as normal, I'm just hoping the queen will move into the box.

If I put a frame of brood in the box would that help encourage the queen to start laying in the box?

If you want the bees out - cut them out and take the comb and put it in a box pinned inside frames. The queen has 0 reasons to leave and will not just walk into your box. Save your frame of brood - she has her own - in the tree. Do the work, get them out, put in box. You ever had livestock that had everything they needed and them willingly just go to market?

This. ^^^^. I don’t see the queen venturing out into the box. The only way I see them occupying it is if you stand up the log, and fit the box tightly on top, above the occupied comb.

Myself, I don’t mess with logs anymore. Way easier ways to get bees than splitting an oak apart.

No, it's not a trap out. A trap out uses a one one way exit cone to empty the parent colony. And the queen will never be part of it. She either dies in the wall or absconds at the end with a small cohort. But either way the colony is out.

The one described is a transfer and has been used from way back to move colonies out of gum or box hives into modern moveable frame hives. The difference from a trap out is the direct two way linkage of the two.

If you're having failures on trapouts then I can only assume that you're trying to move them into an empty box. The bait hive has to be a active colony itself, a nuc ideally.

I have seen the method you are trying used and sorry to say it will not work. If you want the bees I would suggest the following and if you are not a bee keeper with the equipment please get some one that is to assist you.

Equipment needed: A good bee smoker with old pine needles for fuel. Pack it tight once you get it smoking so you get cool smoke and keep it packed when using it. Two hive bodies (brood boxes) with frames that have no foundation in them. Hive body top cover and a bottom board and a bee brush to brush the bees off the combs when removed from the tree. You will also need a box of large rubber bands that will go around a frame. You really need a helper as this is so much easier with two people. You may just use one brood box and if so the other box will need foundation put in the frames for the bees to complete by drawing the wax out.

Get a tarp and lay it on the ground, take your log with the bees and lay it on the tarp with the entrance hole up. The bees have their combs in line with the entrance and you will not be causing the combs to go flat against another one crushing the bees between them. If you ever cut a bee tree be sure and fall it with the hole up or down to save crushing the bees.

Look in the log and see where the combs start at the top and bottom and know which is the top of the tree and bottom because when the bees built the comb the cells have a slight upward tilt to keep the honey from running out and they need to go in the new hive the same way.

Once you know where the comb is in your log, take your chain saw and cut in (like you were cutting wood) half way into the log above and below the combs. Then saw along the sides just through the log (not deep into the log) from cut to cut. You may need help to lift out this block of wood opening the log into the bees. This piece of log will have some comb and bees on it so lay it with the bees and comb up. If the bees really start accumulating on this part, the queen may be on it and should be brushed into the hive after you get 3 or 4 frames completed into the hive.

Have your hive placed at he end of the log (if the combs are not more than 18 inches away) about a foot from the log with the opening to the hive facing the log opening or set it on top of the log about six inches back from the cut opening with the hive opening facing the cut opening. Smoke the bees gently but good in the log. There will be broken combs with open honey and once you smoke the bees they fill up on honey and become gentle. Take a long knife (12 inches) and gently cut a sheet of comb loose from the tree.

Holding it in away not crushing the bees on it, brush the bees into the hive, lay the comb on top of the hive cover( which should be on the log also) remembering which is up and down on the comb. (The bottom of the comb will have the brood and the top of the brood will have the honey. The brood is what you want to put in the hive. Take a frame and lay it down on the comb, trace around the inside of the frame with your knife, lift up the frame, cut your tracing mark, move the pieces away, put your frame down on the comb, slide 3 rubber bands around it, pick it up and put it into the hive against the side of the box. Keep doing this until you have all of the combs transferred from the log into the hive.

Probably 1/2 way through the job you will get the queen brushed off a comb into the hive. When this happens you will shortly hear a roaring sound start up in the log and the majority of the bees in the log will walk out of it into the hive.

The honey in the hive can be put into a pail with a lid(to keep the bees out) and then squeezed out by hand, strained and put in jars. Spread out the squeezed combs on a board and your bees will clean up the remaining honey and put it into the hive.

When dark move your hive to it's permanent place. This place should get full sun, face the East or Southeast. In a few days all of the rubber bands will be laying on the bottom board and will need to be removed as the bees will have all the pieces of comb attached to the frames. Call me if you have questions. Good and happy bee keeping. You are on the front end of something that will grip your life and (bee) very entertaining and enjoyable.

TrapperKent

Kent Smith
870-405-0500
Mountain Home, Arkansas

Kent, I've done exactly as he is describing and it does work. The key is in as much direct contact with the brood area as possible. Think of it as adding space immediate in contact with the brood area with no other exits or routes out. It most certainly helps that the tree is on it's side as they will want to rebuild the broodnest vertically. Even better if you bait them in with already built comb.

It just not a guarantee they'll move immediately as they wont readily abandon any salvageable brood in the tree but eventually they'll make the move.

I'd run my saw right down the middle of colony and pull pieces of comb out making sure it has new brood on it, band or pin in frames put in box, smoke out bees of tree, burn log, be done. I would not waste more than 15 minutes on it. Older I get, much easier to pull a few frames and make a new hive instead of trying to salvage a wild hive or one in house or building.

I am going to give it a try and see what they do. If they don't move in on their own then I have lost nothing and i will bring the log home and split it open next spring. Thanks for the thoughts and the advise.