Bees in a hollow tree

A swarm of bees at Casa Vacanze Podere Santa Pia | Bees in a hollow tree

Bee colonies Castes A colony of bees consists of three castes of bee: a queen bee, which is normally the only breeding female in the colony; a large number of female worker bees, typically 30,000–50,000 in number; a number of male drones, ranging from thousands in a strong hive in spring to very few during dearth or cold season. Tree hollows Honeybees like a dark and secure space with a small defensible entrance. The honey bees' natural homes are tree hollows and caves. Bee tree
A bee tree is a tree in which a colony of honey bees makes its home. A colony of bees may live in a bee tree for many years. Most bee trees have a large inner hollow, often with an upper and lower entrance. Colonies in trees have fixed comb, so inspection and management is impossible, as is most harvesting without destroying the colony. A beekeeper can perform a cut-out on a gum hive. The trunk is cut open to expose the cavity, and the comb is carefully removed and strapped into standard frames. The frames are then put to a conventional hive, such as a Langstroth hive. The bees will follow into the new hive especially if the queen and brood can be transferred.
				Diagram of honey bee nestt from: Seeley, T. D., Morse, R. A. (1976).
If the tree is cut down and the trunk section containing the colony is removed, the result is a log gum or gum hive. A log gum is essentially a bee tree cut into a short section that contained a colony of honey bees. It got its name from the fact that when gum trees die they rot from the inside out, thereby creating a large cavity in which bees would commonly nest. These hives are fixed comb hives and, therefore, medicating and inspecting is almost impossible. YouTube \| Bees in the garden - Catching a swarm of bees at Casa Vacanze Podere Santa Pia

Walking in Tuscany | From Podere Santa Pia through the woods to Castiglioncello Bandini


Queen bee (center)	Worker bee	Larger drones compared to smaller workers

The first hive at Podere Santa Pia

Bee nest inside tree hole	A swarm attached to a branch	How to capture a swarm
THE NEST OF THE HONEY BEE (APIS MELLIFERA L.), by T. D. SEELEY and R. A. MORSE, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, U.S.A., and Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, Nero York 1/~853, U.S.A. The natural honey bee nest was studied in detail to better understand the honey bee's natural living conditions. To describe the nest site we made external observations on 39 nests in hollow trees. We collected and dissected 21 of these tree nests to describe the nest architecture. No one tree genus strongly predominates among bee trees. Nest cavities are vertically elongate and approximately cylindrical. Most are 30 to 60 liters in volume and at the base of trees. Nest entrances tend to be small, 10 to 40 cm2, and at the nest bottom. Rough bark outside the entrance is often smoothed by the bees. Inside the nest, a thin layer of hardened plant resins (propolis) coats the cavity walls. Combs are fastened to the walls along their tops and sides, but bees leave small passageways along the comb edges. The basic nest organization is honey storage above, brood nest below, and pollen storage in between. Associated with this arrangement are differences in comb structure. Compared to combs used for honey storage, combs of the brood nest are generally darker and more uniform in width and in cell form. Drone comb is located on the brood nest's periphery. Comparisons amongApis nests indicate the advanced characters inApis mellifera nests arose in response toApis mellifera's adoption of tree cavities for nest sites. [Seeley, T.D. & Morse, R.A. Ins. Soc (1976) 23: 495. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223477] Pdf Walking in southern Tuscany \| Itineraries exploring Castiglioncello Bandini and the Mediterranean macchia in the valleys around the village Brief itinerary exploring the Mediterranean macchia and calanchi in the valley between Podere Santa Pia and Cinigiano Circular Trail \| Starting Point, the cypresses of Podere Santa Pia Lenghth: 3,85 km, 1 hour 20 minutes Easy, except for the track halfway Through the woods to Castiglioncello Bandini Starting Point, the cypresses of Podere Santa Pia or the Castle of Castiglioncello Bandini Lenghth: 6 km, 1 hour 55 minutes Easy \| 227 m upwards, 227 m downwards From Podere Santa Pia (Castiglioncello Bandini) to Cinigiano Lenghth: 8,34 km Easy Hiking along the Rancioa riverbed, in the hidden valleys below Castiglioncello Bandini Circular Trail \| Starting Point, the cypresses of Podere Santa Pia Lenghth: 4,42 km, 1 hour 31 minutes Easy, except for the essential part of the track beyond Podere Federano, where you reach and follow the Rancioa riverbed Case vacanza in Toscana \| Podere Santa Pia


Podere Santa Pia		Colline sotto Podere Santa Pia


[1] Found on www.rootsimple.com

Mappa Podere Santa Pia \| Ingrandire mappa
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