Bigger Than a roberta

Kirkobeeo declared this comb at the LA Zoo was bigger than Roberta thereby creating a new measurement in the world of beekeeping and honey bees.

The young woman in the middle is Roberta.  She is the Backwards Beekeeper's human dynamo.  She does more cut-outs, swarm captures than anyone.  Seeing her schedule makes me tired.  Vertically challenged she shows no fear when it comes to bees, she towers over all of us..  She is an inspiration to us all. and a robera is much more important than a Smoot at MIT (Google Smoot MIT if you don't know.)

The LA Bee Rescue Hot Line got a call about some bees in a Medical Building in San Gabriel They were entering via this electric conduit on the roof of the building.

The bees were behind this drywall and had worked their way down ithrough some lighting fixtures to offices in the building. They had to be removed or exterminated.

BBK'er Randy and Joseph took up the job.  The first cut showed the bees were between the next two beams.  After some vanilla/sugar water spray, Randy starts to use his bee vac.  This was a perfect job for a bee vac.

Building Manager Kyle tries his hand with Randy's Bee Vac

And here the bees  are, filling the entire space between the studs and honey dripping everywhere.

This comb was loaded with honey and a gazilion bees but they were not hard to work with once they got the sugar/vanilla water.

The length of the comb is exposed and it is definitely more than one Roberta.  The comb was at least five feet in length and maybe more.  No one took time to measure it.

Randy using his bee vac as Joseph offers advice.

Joseph getting his turn with the vac

Joseph standing on his tip toes can barely reach the top of the comb.

Comb all removed.  It filled this entire space from stud to stud with only bee space not used.

From the header to almost the bottom was comb and most was full of honey or brood.   This hive must have been here for years.

 

We took four containers of honey comb.  Joseph had two supers with frames full of brood comb plus some honey and pollen,

The hive was left on the roof for the day so the bees can get oriented to the new home.  The hole by the electric conduit was sealed and blocked with expansion foam.

 Another fine job pulled off by Backwards Beekeepers Rescue Hot Line.