Welcome back to the Bee Sanctuary! Tonight, we’re in northern Johannesburg at a property where the gardener has effectively “surrendered” a corner of the garden to a colony of African honeybees (Apis mellifera scutellata). They’ve built a formidable kingdom inside the base of a Saringa tree, and tonight, we’re breaching the castle.

This wasn’t a job for a simple trap-out. In a tree this size, there are too many hidden exits. To save the bees, we had to perform a cutout—essentially opening a drawbridge into the heart of their fortress with surgical precision.

The Engineering Challenge: Precision vs. Integrity

When you take a chainsaw to a living tree to reach a hive, the stakes are high. One cut too deep and the entire tree could lose its structural integrity and fall.

• The Assessment: We marked a small access square at the base where the wood sounded hollow. The goal was to cut just enough of the bark and outer timber to reach the core without hearing that dreaded “crack.”
• The Reveal: As the first wedge of wood came away, the smell hit us—warm wax, honey, and propolis. We were right on target. The colony had used the tree’s natural hollow to create a perfectly insulated home, protected from the Highveld’s temperature swings.

Inside the Kingdom: Comb, Heat, and Propolis

African honeybees are masters of temperature regulation, keeping their brood nest between 33°C and 36°C. Opening the tree revealed exactly how they do it.

• The “Black” Comb: We found layers of very old, dark comb. This tells us the colony has been here for multiple seasons, flourishing in secrecy.
• The Resource Map: The nest followed a classic vertical structure: heavy honey and pollen “bread” at the top for easy access, with the delicate brood (the eggs and larvae) protected in the deeper, warmer sections of the cavity.
• The “Deep” Colony: Scutellata can stretch their comb up to 3 metres deep into a hollow. We had to reach deep into the trunk to pull out beautiful, large sheets of capped brood.

Technical Extraction: The Transplantation

This wasn’t just an extraction; it was a transplantation.

• Surgical Cuts: Using a knife, I carefully separated the brood from the honey. We don’t want honey leaking onto the larvae during transport, as it can “drown” the developing bees.
• The Bee Vac: While I handled the comb, we used our custom low-suction bee vacuum to gently collect the workers. This ensures a safe transition from the wild hollow to our managed hive box without harming the bees.
• Mounting the Brood: Every piece of healthy brood was immediately secured into wooden frames using elastic bands. Keeping the brood in its original “top-to-bottom” orientation is crucial for the colony’s survival once they reach the apiary.

The Verdict: A Successful Breach

We successfully cleared the cavity, harvested the honey for the gardener, and secured the most important part of the hive: the future generation. By taking the time to do a precise cutout instead of a trap-out, we ensured that this resilient colony stays together as a single, functional unit.

Want to see how we seal the tree after a cutout to prevent future swarms?

Check out our Tree Rescue Playlist for more “surgical” beekeeping adventures. Don’t forget to Subscribe and hit the Like button to support our mission!