Newbee with a feral swarm.

[christofer hart]

Two weeks ago I got a call from one of our no sites there were bees at the site. I said leave them alone and quickly grabbed my stuff and headed there. They were on a branch of a tree and I got what I think is most of them. They are building comb and doing their bee things. What I would like to know is how fast should they bee building comb? What’s the die off ratio? I have a pic of them but don’t know how to post it here. Thanks

[susan rudnicki]

Hi, Chris—the message is a little garbled, but I will try.
You don’t say if you have ever kept bees before. WHERE are they building comb? Do you have them in a manageable hive or just a cardboard box?
I would guess you need a lot more background info than how fast they build comb or die off. Beekeeping is a pretty education intensive practice, especially if you live in the city and want to practice responsible beekeeping that won’t annoy your neighbors—or create a safety issue.
We have monthly meetings, we are sponsoring a beekeeping conference loaded with knowledgable experts and good networking opportunities which starts on August 19. I urge you to get a mentor and do some reading on beekeeping before things go too far. This forum allows a way of asking for help, but you need to back up a bit and get the basics in hand.
Rob and Chelsea’s book, listed on this site under “support” is excellent
Please let us know how it goes Susan

[christofer hart]

Hi Susan,

Thank you for your reply! I am a member and have been to a few meetings and plan on going to more. Let me answer your questions.

1.This is my first hive. I have never kept bees before but I am willing to learn and try.

2. The bees are building comb on the frames I have in the manageable hive, not cardboard.

I am always up for more learning. As I am new to bee keeping I read all I can, when I can, about it.

[susan rudnicki]

Good!! the reading is very helpful for learning the technicalities of the bee social behaviors. What kind of hive do you have them in? Langstroth, Top Bar? Do you know about the Natural Beekeeping conference HoneyLove is sponsoring that goes all next weekend? I strongly recommend you come as it is a very quick and intensive road to learning helpful information and the chance to make connections with others in the beekeeping community.
If this is your first hive, I strongly urge you to get connected with a mentor. This will help you learn faster, with fewer mistakes (mistakes that can sometimes endanger the public and our collective beekeeping reputations) and give you greater confidence. Be careful about reading a lot of posts on the Internet and YouTube videos. Often, the people posting this information are NOT in our area of the country (you may have heard the phrase “all beekeeping is local” and this is VERY important in dealing with Los Angeles feral bee stock)
Where do you live? HL can hook you up with a mentor in your area. Do you have your basic equipment—suit or jacket, veil, smoker, hive tool, boots or protective shoes, hive stand? Do you know how to inspect your new hive and what you should be looking for? A new swarm should be inspected every few days on foundationless frames to make sure they stay under the profile of the topbar.
Have you read Rob and Chelsea’s book? Please write back!

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