Transfer Top-bar Hive into Cathedral TopBar Hive

Using the Bailey comb transfer method of migrating bees out of an older hive and comb I am hoping that  this procedure will work to utilise my empty spare Cathedral hive and enable me to discard the flat topped standard TbH. The Cathedral hive has a window cut out of the base approx. 20"X 8".
5/8 inch diameter holes were first drilled between the bars so the bees have access to the hive above, much like a super added on top. During the set up, a towel was draped over the open holes and then a rectangle of 9mm ply laid in between with a window cut in it to match the window base of the TbH.
The upper hive has ten bars of foundation on and the remaining bars are left empty,  giving plenty of room for the whole colony to move upwards. 

Time expected for this to be accomplished is three to four weeks

The assembly is secured with rope and supported on a pair of IKEA trestles .

One month later and with no sign of bees migrating upwards. Instead they are sealing all gaps that allow their warmth to escape into the hive above.  Back to square one and my only option is now to transfer comb piece by piece into the new fully framed bars already prepared in anticipation.
The comb will be held temporarily in place with rubber bands until the bees have secured it in place. Not an operation to be undertaken lightly, but fortunately this colony is not aggressive or too defensive. Hopefully I shall find the queen and be able to cage her against any harm through this process.

The day chosen to carry out this move was hot. All was readied and the first three combs cleared of bees. The combs proved too heavy to be held onto the frames by rubber bands and the attempt was abandoned in favour of simply harvesting the honey. After over an hour in the sun I was dripping wet and quite unable to work in the apiery any longer.

 

The Cathedral hive is about ninety five percent larger by volume than the flat top hive underneath

Honey flooding the Cathedral Top Bar Hives

May is a time of plenty for bees. After a late start now making up for lost time in the Apiary. Inspecting my favourite hive that was about to swarm, I noticed  a slab of broken comb had fallen to the floor, blocking the flow of bees to the inner end of this large log-sized hive. Bees were backing up just inside the entrance and clustering too thickly on the bars. Removal of the fallen comb and edging  out some free space to provide more room. Two queen cells at least have been capped so I am confident that the removed queen is about to be replaced.  I shook out some more nurse bees into the queen right hive close by.
My flat top hive is also looking full and healthy, such that I am now free to transfer to a spare Cathedral Top-Bar-Hive using the "Bailey comb transfer technique"; a simple procedure where foundation comb on empty bars is placed above the complete brood box for a few weeks until the bees, together with their queen is seen to move upwards and into the new comb with a newly emerged brood, leaving the old comb behind. Once the colony is seen to be in the upper space a queen excluder is placed in between to restrict her to the upper space which in my case will be the complete cathedral type hive strapped on top of the normal flat topped TbH.  In this way all my hives will be of standard size and have interchangeable bars. Veroa much reduced - abandoned in the old comb. 

Rapidly filling up 

This donor hive has at least two capped queen cells maturing 

The mesh floor is to be soon removed.  I shall spread a mulch of tree fungi instead - New research has found that it can be effective against the Veroa mite, without harming bees in any way

The busiest week for Bees

The split up donor hive has settled down to a more normal routine, but the queen-right hive placed in front of the donor is lacking in foragers I fear.  On the 17th May I discovered that a European hornet had entered via a back door hole inadvertently left open. It had begun nest building from a top bar in the void behind a follower board. I removed the bars adjacent to hers and doused her with a cap-full of metholated spirit, normally used to light the smoker. She fell to the floor but quickly revived,to fly off at speed only to return five minutes later. Meanwhile I had stopped the entrance hole and she gave up after a few minutes.
Back in the village, our churchyard has plenty of trees in blossom and three colonies in the church stonework; all quite active, except for one on the north wall.
I had deployed my bait hive 18 feet up into a tree a couple of days earlier, and yesterday the 19th, was delighted to see bees entering during a lovely warm afternoon. A swarm appeared later and hung about for a few minutes, and gradually made for the north face wall. It moved into a void some twenty feet above ground level. Next day only one or two bees are entering the bait hive - probably scouts. Our Vicar is quite happy for me to work in this way, since the bees have occasionally put fear into the hearts of wedding parties entering the church.

European hornet beginning her nest in my hive

Bee Split of Cathedral Top Bar Hive

During a spell of settled fine weather, and having a hive about to swarm, I chose to remove the queen into a new empty hive, together with her nurse bees, plenty of honey stores and some brood. About 9 combs in all were transferred, and they remained remarkably calm throughout the procedure. The donor hive was alarmed, as they well might be, having lost their mother queen. I had the misfortune to break one or two combs due to sheer weight of honey and partial cross combing. This being one drawback with the top bar hive design - the bees free to build without the support of an all surrounding frame. The advantages of this hive design is however, well worth the trouble and has many advantages.
After closing up both hives I realised that bees were not entering the new hive and remembered to place the queen right hive close in front of the donor hive, such that returning foraging bees have the opportunity to fly into the queen right hive.

Inner end farthest from entrance

Honey being laid down here

New Combe

End follower board prevents bars from toppling over

Plenty of brood comb to be transferred

After procedure completed the queen right hive (on the yellow stand) is placed in the flight path of the flying bees which now have the choice of entering the donor hive or the  newly formed queen right hive

The third hive to the rear and right is not involved in the work today

Some broken comb - Oh Dear !

Adjacent combs are kept in sequence as near as possible

Third hive not yet strong enough to swarm. Recently turned through ninety degrees so that it catches more sun. The original end entrance to the right will soon be sealed up and the side entrance fully opened.

Time to walk away - Further inspection to be made in a few days time.

Back in Britain

The run towards home is tinged with a dose of nostalgia as we drive along the coastal motorway heading east. Names of previous happy holidays spent at resorts along this beautiful coastal region.
San Vicente de la Barquera  and Ribadesella amongst them. Romantic names and romantic memories of seafood snacks, like razor clams and barnacles.
Having more than time enough to re-visit them, a decision has to be made to divert seawards, or head straight on to the ferry port. Our choice not to go down memory lane was made - far better to return home with memories of our new found treasured destinations.
Helen rued the day she chose to sit in the passenger seat on these longer trips away.  I am warned this will be the last time.  But once we reach our little village home in South Devon, that  doubt is cast aside and we are talking about the next venture, off into the blue hills and misty mountains.
The Morgan is so right for the way we travel, and such a delightful machine to enjoy the open road.

Puente románico de la Ramallosa

Bermiego - gets our top village vote!

Bermiego is approached up a steep series of sharp hairpins, half way up a snow capped mountain south west of Oviedo and an hours drive from our BnB.
Due to the narrowing roads the final approach was made on foot. Life here proceeds as it always has done, at walking pace, not listening to the outside world. As we wandered the maze of crossed paths, no radio or music was heard, only the songbirds, the hens and the hollow dong dong of a cow bell.
Beyond the village is the little chapel, walled church yard and thousand year old Yew tree.

No shop, no school, no pub, no bus stop, no dentist,  but plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, dairy and meat products, and mounds of farmyard manure, carefully conserved.

Bells on Tuesday