Bee keeper Dave Korver is seen using smoke on a bee hive to help extract the hive and move it to a different location.
(Le Mars) — A group of six local bee keepers were called upon this past Saturday to extract a honey bee hive located inside a dead ash tree. The tree is located across the street from the Cleveland Park and was tagged by the city to be cut down when city officials discovered bees had been buzzing in and around the tree. Dave Korver of rural Le Mars, and a member of the Siouxland Bee Association, says city officials asked if he would be interested in removing the bee hive.
Korver says the city had topped the tree, and removed the branches, allowing the bee keepers better access to the hive. Korver says the tree was rotten and made for an easier access to the hive. Korver says he used a chainsaw to cut an opening to get to the hive. He says the bees were fairly gentle in nature during the entire extraction process, and he says the hive was about an average size bee hive.
The bee keeper says when extracting a bee hive, the honey comb is first removed. He says this particular hive had six layers of honey comb, each about an inch and a half thick and 12 inches wide by 18 inches tall. Korver says the honey comb had contained an estimated five to ten pounds of honey.
The group of bee keepers used smoke and a vacuum to help remove the bees. When the bee keepers were extracting the hive from the old tree they did not immediately locate the queen bee. However, Korver is convinced they were able to get the queen and remove her from the hive.
Korver says its best to identify the queen when moving a hive.
Korver says the entire process to remove the hive took several hours to complete. The new hive has been set up in the rural area near Struble.
