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Locating Wild Honey Bee Nests – The Forgotten Art of Bee Lining

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Finding a wild honey bee nest in the hollow of a tree deep in the forest can be an exciting and rewarding experience. While harvesting wild hives is no longer recommended due to the stresses honey bee populations face, learning the art of “bee lining” to locate these elusive nests connects us to past traditions and woodland skills.

What is Bee Lining?

Bee lining refers to the practice of capturing and tracking foraging honey bees back to their tree nest. Worker bees instinctively fly in straight lines back to the hive after gathering pollen and nectar. By marking bees and timing their flights bee hunters can triangulate the bees’ routes to find wild colonies.

When to Look for Wild Nests

The best time for bee lining is late summer and early fall when bees are busily gathering the last pollen and nectar stores before winter. Natural food sources are waning, so bees will eagerly seek out bait boxes. Overcast warm days are ideal since bees stand out against the clouds.

Equipment Needed

  • Bee box with sliding partition, window, and bait (piece of honeycomb and sugar water)
  • Compass
  • Watch
  • Brightly colored hat
  • Binoculars
  • GPS (optional)
  • Topographical mapping software (optional)

How to Bee Line Step-by-Step

  1. Set up bee box with bait in an open area where bees are foraging.

  2. Carefully catch a bee in the box and transfer it to the bait compartment. Allow the bee to feed undisturbed.

  3. After feeding, the bee will exit and circle around to orient itself before flying off in one direction back to the hive. Note the direction and time of departure.

  4. When the bee returns, note the time elapsed. This gives an estimate of the distance to the hive based on flight time.

  5. Repeat this process, recording the bee’s line of flight each time until you can draw two or more intersecting lines pointing toward the nest location.

  6. Follow one bee line on foot using a compass to maintain direction. Inspect trees within sight of the line. Listen for buzzing which may indicate a nest.

  7. For more distant hives, move the bee box sequentially closer along the bee line to pinpoint the area.

  8. Use GPS coordinates and mapping software to map bee lines and narrow down the target zone.

Signs of a Nearby Nest

  • Round trip flights under 3 minutes indicate a nest within 1/4 mile.

  • Flights between 5-10 minutes indicate a nest within 1/2 mile.

  • Flights from 10-20 minutes indicate a nest within 1 mile.

  • Foraging bees traveling in the same direction.

  • Faint buzzing coming from a tree hole.

  • Bees entering and exiting the same tree cavity.

Final Tips

  • Scout foraging areas where bees are working flowers like goldenrod and asters in late summer.

  • Avoid areas near managed hives so you follow truly wild bees.

  • Exercise caution when inspecting high nests and do not disturb the bees.

Though rarely practiced today, bee lining preserves historic skills and offers a unique way to study honey bees in their natural forest habitat. With minimal equipment and some patience, the hidden world of the wild honey bee can be yours to discover.

wild honey bee nest

Call to Naturalists

You can join our Citizen Science project in Luxembourg, Europe, if you know about wild bee colonies, like to watch nature, and would like to do so. Email us at [email protected]. com.

wild honey bee nest

Honey bees in the wild that survive

in todays environment are particularly important. We talk about the two parts of our citizen science project in this article: keeping an eye on the demographics of bee colonies and watching bees move into woodpecker holes.

The Demographic Study of Wild Bee Colonies

The “Honey Bee Wild” network’s first citizen science project is to find out how long bee colonies that live in the wild in Luxembourg live. The protocol used in this investigation was made by Vincent Albouy (OPIE Poitou-Charentes) and is based on the groundbreaking study by Thomas D. Seeley in the 1970s in the Arnot Forest near Ithaca, New York (Seeley, 2019).

The OPIE protocol has improved the Seeley protocol in two ways: it gives a more detailed description of the nesting sites, and it records other cavity dwellers.

The approach recommended for naturalists is easy to implement. This involves observing the bee colonies four times a year. The main criterion is the presence of bees, and especially bees that have collected pollen. We look at all wild bee colonies to find out how long they usually live, no matter what kind of hole they live in—a woodpecker hole, a natural tree hole, or a hollow wall.

The worldwide interest in the wild honeybees can be seen at www. freelivingbees. com. In May 2020, it was suggested that all wild bee colonies, no matter where they nest, be studied internationally to find out how long they usually live (Seeley, 2020).

At the moment, researchers in Germany are mostly looking into the wild bee colonies that live in forests (Kohl and Rutschmann, 2018) (Mittl, bibliographical overview, 2019). In 2020, photographer Ingo Arndt and Professor Jürgen Tautz published the book “Honey Bees – Mysterious Forest Residents”. Honeybees and other cave dwellers were seen living in woodpecker holes in France during long-term studies in the Orient Forest (Fauvel, 2014). During the breeding season, swarms of bees were seen moving into gray woodpecker holes in the state forest of Loches in Touraine (Dubois, 2018).

About 80% of swarms of bees living in the wild do not survive the first winter (Seeley, 2017). The rigor of natural selection helps maintain properties useful for survival (Cooper, 1986). A limitation in forest areas is the number of large, well-separated woodpecker holes or natural cavities that can be used by bees to build nests (Ruttner, 1988).

Wild Honey Bee Nest Hunting in Oregon

FAQ

What does a wild honey bee nest look like?

Honeybees will seek out hollows in trees, abandoned rodent burrows, and the voids between walls to establish their nests. The nest is constructed entirely of wax in a characteristic honeycomb pattern. Each cell of the honeycomb will house a single egg or developing bees.

How do you find a wild honey bee nest?

You’re looking for holes in trees and bees flying in the same direction past openings in the canopy. Investigate any tree holes and cavities. The colony will probably be in a cavity in a large or damaged tree, so pay close attention to these.

What does a natural honey bee hive look like?

Honey bees use caves, rock cavities, and hollow trees as natural nesting sites. In warmer climates, they may build exposed hanging nests; members of other subgenera have exposed aerial combs. Multiple parallel honeycombs form the hive with a relatively uniform bee space. It usually has a single entrance.

What to do if you find a honey bee nest?

If the nest is large or you’re dealing with honeybees, it’s best to call a pest control professional or a beekeeper. They have the tools and expertise to safely remove the nest without harming the bees. Avoid using pesticides unless absolutely necessary, as they can be harmful to bees and other beneficial insects.

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