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www.urban-forestry.com 17 nest in a cavity of some sort. Only once have I seen bee combs hanging free from a branch, a hive placement that gives them no protection from the elements and from winter. Look for bees congregating in an area, look for little gaps into which they are flying/crawling. If it's hard to find, and it's out of the way, I would suggest leav- ing them alone. Most people won't even know they're there, and they provide many landscape benefits to us. —Joran Viers, City Forester, City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department, Albuquerque, New Mexico In the spring of 2014 I received a call that the City of Tulsa had encountered a honeybee hive in a tree they were removing on City property near the Arkansas River. The City cut the section of tree with the bee hive and placed it on the curb and notified our local bee club to come retrieve it. I drove over, secured the openings in the log, took it to my apiary, and oriented it upright. There was a hole in the top of the log that I attached a new hive box to and created a passage into the box from the log. Over the course of a few months, the bees begin moving up into the box, building new comb and laying new eggs. I was eventually able to remove the log completely, as the bees had mostly moved up into the new box attached to the top. The hive is still alive and well today in its new home. —James Deming, Beekeeper and Proprietor of Shadow Mountain Honey Company (shadowmountainhoney.com), Tulsa, OK Passageway from tree log to new hive box • Photo by James Deming We have had to occasionally remove trees that contain honeybee hives. First, we contacted local beekeepers to discuss the situation and advise if the insects are worth keeping. Often they are interested in extracting the bees into a portable hive, which may take some time. Scaffolding to support the portable hive near the opening or a way to hang it from the tree is necessary to allow the honeybees to find their new, portable home. If there is an emergency, this approach won't work. However, it may be possible to temporarily seal the opening to reduce bees flying out during the work. When cutting around a hive, it can be a challenge to know the extent of the cavity and the size of the hive. Caution and protective equipment/suits are a good idea. Having a sprayer ready with material in case the hive gets out of hand may also protect innocent bystanders and crew members. The work should be timed when the bees aren't as active. Wasps and yellow jackets are usually not worth trying to move. As with bees, planning the treatments during the times the insects are not active helps reduce actual conflicts with the target pest. —Gordon Mann, Registered Consulting Arborist and Owner of Mann Made Resources, Auburn, CA Exposed bee comb on beauty leaf (Calophyllum) tree • Photo by Jeff Shimonski