Bees in a tree. Oxalic acid

Towards the end of the season Richard, one of the Dartford Beekeepers, told me that a friend of his had seen a swarm of bees hanging in a tree near the perimeter fence on our Barnehurst Apiary. In my wisdom I decided that as it was very late in the year for a swarm the report probably referred to a small long abandoned piece of comb that a ‘cast’ had drawn on the branch of a tree at one end of the apiary fence. This I had spotted some weeks earlier.

Sometime later on a routine visit to Barnehurst my friend Jimi pointed out what looked like the biggest swarm I had ever seen! Exposed, by the autumn leaf fall, they were hanging from a branch of the buddleia tree at the far end of the apiary!

I was, however, right about it being too late for a swarm, this was a large long established feral colony clustered on eight combs. The central and longest comb was twenty plus inches long, the nest was the typical rugby ball shape and they were about ten feet off the ground.

The bees, perhaps because they were so exposed, were rather aggressive and fairly quickly Jimi and I abandoned our inspection and made a strategic withdrawal.  What to do?

Equipped with veils, several layers of clothing, cycle clips (yes they were that fierce), gloves, an extending ladder and pruning gear we returned the next day to do a little pruning and to make a plan for the recovery of these bees.

Beekeepers like to boast about how challenging the collection of some swarms is, but these, OMG, an established colony, it was early October, they were more than ten feet off the ground, the nest was big and they really resented our interference. On the plus side they had built their comb on a single branch.

To cut a long story short we decided to leave the colony in situ until spring. This would mean that protection from the elements was vital. We built a rudimentary platform supporting a solid langstroth floor two brood boxes and an eke carefully placed around the nest. A roof was contrived around the branch and fitting closely over the boxes. We’re hoping that the bees will build brace comb between the existing comb and the box which was manoeuvred close to the nest. This if all goes to plan will allow us to sever the branch, lower the box and carry it off to the Dartford Apiary where the bees will be established in a more conventional hive.

Several Beekeepers have mentioned to me that their bees are still flying strongly whenever the weather warms up. The Apiary bees were on the wing quite busily on Saturday last (15th Dec.) This probably means that they're using up their stores at an increased rate compared to colder years.
Page four of November's 'BBKA News' carries a chart that suggests consumption of a colony's stores more than doubles when they are disturbed! Notwithstanding I aim to treat each colony with Oxalic acid later this year or early in 2013. We treated in February this year and had little trouble with Varroa throughout the 2012 season. They'll also be disturbed a little when each hive gets a chunk of fondant to boost their stores, maybe I'll combine these operations.
If anyone is interested in observing/helping with the administration of the Oxalic acid treatment I'll make a plan and get Kevin to put the date on the web-site.
Barry