Lisa, Therer's a good chance they aren't honey bees but If they are indeed honeybees, now would not be the best time to move then into a regular hive, since they would already have honey stored for the winter and it would be hard to cutout without doing much damage. If you put your ear up to the container you should hear them buzzing. They would need to build comb and put up stores for the winter. On cold nights like we're starting to get bees will cluster to stay warm, but you should see some out flying on days that reach around 50 degrees. It may help to close down their entrance width to a smaller size, maybe 2" wide in a couple of places or so and provide some sort of insulation and wind break. If you really want to get more involved, get a couple of blocks of wood such as landscape timbers to get the container up off the ground a little. Get a sheet of 2" rigid foam insulation. cut a piece to place under the container, and some for the outside, wich you can use wire or string to hold on. It's important for them to have a protected space but they also need air flow so moisture doesn't build up inside. You may even be able to place an outside feeder nearby with 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. Who knows if they survive the winter, you might want to be a beekeeper come spring. good luck and keep us posted.

In a Geraldo-Rivera-like twist of fate, my bees are not honeybees, as evidenced by a multilevel paper comb :( no Capone treasure here!

Some are still alive but on their last legs. I'm surprised at how big they are and their body shapes still seem boxy like honeybees... but alas!

Thanks for taking the time to respond! I was quite excited to think I might be able to keep bees even if just over the winter. Ever since 3rd grade when my mother made me choose honeybees as a project so I'd be less scared of them. However, we have at least two local beekeepers in business so I don't know if I would want to infringe on them, though I am now intrigued. Would have been cool for my kids too.

Tony - again thank you for taking the time to respond. Perhaps somebody will now know what to do if they have a real honeybee-in-a-box situation!

Lisa

Well, that's pretty much expected. But a paper wasp looks not at all like a honeybee. And honeybees are typically gentle. You really ought to consider beekeeping!

Ontario's a big place. Where, exactly?

Lisa, I'm with ccrbl. Although now is not a good time to move bees, it's the Perfect time to get started in beekeeping by talking to the locals, reading some good books, and browsing through catalogs. Around here we place orders for package bees in jan to be recieved from mid april to mid may. I live less than a mile from main st and have 6 hives in my backyard. Two other beekeepers have 9 more hives between here and main st. so one or two hives should have no affect on the other locals. Most are happy to see newcomers and show them the ropes. It is a fascinating and rewarding hobby. I used to be afraid of bees and could feel me heart beat go up when one would buzz around me. I never thought I'd go into a bee yard housing over 200,000 bees and pop open a hive. I've learned so much in the last few years, and have been giving presentations at libraries, schools, and fairs because I'm so eager to share my excitement. That's not even mentioning the rewards of fresh, raw, unheated or treated honey!!!

Hi Tony, I'm in Innisfil Ontario north of Toronto near Barrie. Just around the corner is Dickey Bee Honey and another beekeeper is just south of here on the way to Bradford. Even our mayor is a beekeeper! I had a friend who had a couple hives as a hobby - and I've been to a bed and breakfast near Peterborough that is a honey farm - Hunter Farm. I watched Ruth centrifuge the honey. But what do you do with it all?? You'd have to sell it, and I don't want to compete business-wise with my neighbours. Although I do own and operate a grocery delivery business and have been asked for the unpasteurized honey, recommended for health. When my friend tried to turn his unpasteurized honey hobby into a business (we were in a government sponsored business start-up program), he ran into all sorts of problems - apparently he could sell the honey off his driveway or at a stall he himself operated, but ran into trouble trying to sell through a second party - other retailers. Have you any information on why this may be the case?

And besides honey, can you make other products if you're a beekeeper - can one make honey 'sugar' for example? How can one differentiate honey from others? Is it worth keeping just a handful of hives or is that not cost-effective?

Regarding what kind of wasps/hornets my 'bees' were - they had longer wings but not long narrow bodies. I assumed wasps all have dangly bits hanging off them and hornets are long and pointy and yellowjackets are tiny. Thats about all I thought I knew ;)

Thanks for your replies!

Lisa

Lisa,

Look up the Bee Works in the Barrie phone book and then go and visit them.

So long as "BillyBee" honey is mostly low quality Argentinian honey, there's room for more honey producers in Canada. Shame on BillyBee.

If you don't want to sell, trust me, you'll be in demand giving away mason jars filled with wonderful honey each Christmas.

Lisa, A friend got me interested a couple of years ago. He put 2 hives in my yard and I helped him with those and a few others for a year to learn the basics. He split the honey from the hives in my yard with me. The following year he moved one of his and I had two of my own in my yard and 3 in other locations. I joined the local club and everyone has been very helpful. There is no sense of competition. One guy who has 7 hives about 1/4 mile down the road has been my best mentor. I started selling honey last year and used money to add more this year. Everyone in the club has developed their own markets. I play in a band and am active in the community so when I send out the email saying I have honey for sale, it's pretty much all I need to do. Everyone wants it because it's raw honey, unheated or treated. I'm able to easily get $6 for 1 lb jars in this niche market, but it's also important to offer some variety. I sell 1 lb and 1/2 lb jars, some comb honey,some in bulk by filling customer's containers,some small sample or gift jars, and some fancy jars. I'm also starting to make soap, candles, lip balm, and lotion. People like knowing the products they use are locally made. We also keep 100-150 lbs for our own use throughout the year. You can have just one or 2 hives so it isn't overwhelming and use any honey you get for yourself and as gifts. Tony