Gravity and Old Trees
There have been a few times over the years when trees have posed a threat to a hive or two. This tree wound up covering most of the yard:
It took quite a bit of chainsaw work to liberate the bees. The good news? None of the equipment actually got destroyed when it came down. There were branches everywhere and a lot of inconvenience, but at least the true damage was quite limited.
My heart fell a bit when I saw that one of the hives had been tipped backwards:
Luckily, even the tipped hive ended up surviving. It was a bit light, but its open-air experience didn't prove fatal. Since this happened sometime in late winter, I'm not sure how long it sat in such a vulnerable condition. The landowner had been in Florida for a couple of weeks, so no one had a close eye on the bees during that time. In any case, it was a relief to restore the hive to its bottom board and find them alive under the lid. Hopefully they will multiply to the extent that it will provide a split as well!
![](https://eberthoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/FallenTree_Hives_2015_Small.jpg)
![](https://eberthoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/TippedHive_2015_Small.jpg)