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Author: RodneyWT1180B Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 5:30 pm (GMT 0) Thank you, I've already built a support for the hive and will be strapping the hive to that when it is completed. I may just screw the floor to the support and then strap the boxes to that, I haven't made up my mind yet. At that time I'll also post some pictures of the setup in case anyone else can find it useful. The motivation for the roof mount is to keep the yard free for my family to use, also we get the occasional skunk and raccoon passing thru so it should eliminate access for those animals as well. Rodney Author: biobee Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 4:03 pm (GMT 0) Welcome Rodney. Please be careful mounting a Warré hive on a sloping roof - they are rather top-heavy and we don't want any accidents! Make sure you anchor it with guys or something similar. Good luck! _________________ Friends of the Bees www.friendsofthebees.org The Barefoot Beekeeper podcast http://biobees.libsyn.com/ Author: RodneyWT1180B Subject: Hello from Centralia, WA Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:54 pm (GMT 0) My name is Rodney and I'm brand new to beekeeping. My daughter and I are just putting the finishing touches on a Warre hive and we've ordered a package of Italian bees that are due in April. We live in a more or less suburban setting and were told the Italians tend to be a little more gentle. The hive will be mounted on the roof of a shed in our backyard about 8 feet off the ground. The roof has a very shallow pitch and is easy to stand on to work with the hive. I chose the Warre hive due to the low maintenance/ interference aspects of the design but am also curious about horizontal top bar hives. After lurking here for a while, I'll probably end up building a top bar hive as well just because it looks like it would be fun to do. I'm looking forward to having honey bees around, I haven't seen very many around here so I don't think there are any other beekeepers near me. Rodney Author: rlucas Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:50 am (GMT 0) That sounds encouraging! My plan is to get a couple of bait hives out for this summer as a start, and then take things from there. _________________ Richard in Fife Author: biobee Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:08 am (GMT 0)
There's your problem. Insulate at the top; ventilate at the bottom. _________________ Friends of the Bees www.friendsofthebees.org The Barefoot Beekeeper podcast http://biobees.libsyn.com/ Author: Ivan Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:39 am (GMT 0) Thanks for the reply Bernhard If you're using a no-top bar system you have to give the bees something to hang from right at the start... why would top-bars be a bad idea in this case? Author: Garret Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 4:11 am (GMT 0) A bit of an update on this hive. After the queen problem last year I'm happy to report that my Warre' hive is doing very well. Concerning the three swarms from this hive all have survived. One is on the weak side this being the second swarm and showed a lot of DWV late last year. I didn't expect this one to make it and it still may not but the weather is good and nectar and pollen is about. This is the hive that was being robbed and I thought was dead but wasn't. There were palm size areas of eggs and larva on three combs at the time I move it to the new location (Feb 16th). Tomorrow should be warm and I'll have a look to see if they are flying. _________________ I'm not as serious as I look! Author: Garret Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:38 am (GMT 0) I loved Nanaimo when I lived there about ten years ago. I lived on Summit Dr over looking Long Lake. I would try putting your name in at the SPCA, Police Dept., Fire Dept., and exterminators. But make sure they know to what extent you will go to collect the bees. Cut outs may be something you would want to do after you've had bees for a year or two. _________________ I'm not as serious as I look! Author: strider3700 Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:55 am (GMT 0) Thanks all. Today it was gorgeous and the mason bees were out in force on the dandelions in the front yard. I have houses for the mason bees so not shocking. A couple queen bumble bees buzzing around as well. I didn't build them houses this year but I'll be sure to add a few for next year. The really good news was I saw the first honey bee of the year in the front yard. Also while out for a drive I went past one of the biggest honey producers in town. He has a little stall out near the road with 3 langs in it at least one of them had lots and lots of activity which was nice to see. Author: bbhb Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:50 pm (GMT 0) Even in a dry climate, you can get mold. We reduced our entrance by only half and had been seeing quite a bit of water pooling on the landing board. After seeing mold on the honeycombs, we did two things. 1) pushed the falseback back, less than a bee space, for some ventilation. The space is screened to keep out earwigs and such. 2) tilted the hive one bubble. The bees generate enough moisture for it to pool, but now it runs across the floor and out. The bees have cleaned up the mold. In our case it was only on brace comb or unfilled cells. No cappings were moldy, so my assumption is the honey underneath is fine. Author: zaunreiter Subject: Re: Warre Hive Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:30 pm (GMT 0)
Let's wait what your reports are in a few years time. Don't forget to keep us updated about your success. Bernhard _________________ ~ back to the bees ~ Author: Joseph C. Keller Subject: Black bee adaptation Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:50 pm (GMT 0) Thanks for your response, nursebee! I'd like to know more about this. According to my 1992 World Almanac, the normal January high/low temperature in Dubuque, Iowa, is 24/7F (-4/-14C) and in Moscow, Russia, 21/9F (-6/-13C) but in Vienna, Austria, 34/26F (+1/-3). I've read that the Black bee's range included Russia, whose winter temperatures are about the same as Iowa, whereas the Carniolan's origin was northern Yugoslavia. It would be colder in the mountains of Yugoslavia, but Iowa, like Russia, is not in the mountains. Both Iowa (except eastern Iowa) and much of Russia have a "steppe" climate and had "steppe" or "prairie" flora. Iowa, especially eastern Iowa, does get slightly more precipitation than Moscow and is a few degrees warmer in the summer. On the other hand, the day length in Iowa is about the same as Yugoslavia, not the extreme day lengths of northern Europe. People often kept Black bees in the Appalachians of West Virginia in the early 1900s, often capturing swarms, which might have been descended from escaped bees brought to Virginia by English colonists in the 1600s. Though "European foulbrood" devastated the wild Black bee in N. America in the 1900s, it appears that various diseases are devastating all other strains as well, maybe preventing them from establishing themselves in the wild in the U.S. Midwest. Black bees might be better able than the less ferocious Carniolans, to defend themselves from squirrels, mice, and raccoons. Maybe copper/chromium/arsenic treated lumber is toxic to honeybees which try to build hives in farm buildings. The bees' forage distance is larger than the distance between farms, so an insecticide-free farmer will have his wild bees poisoned by a neighbor's insecticide use. Aerial spraying is prevalent in my area; a neighbor was directly sprayed by an airplane while working in her garden and became seriously ill for several months (the spraying company suggested she should have informed them she was "sensitive"). Herbicide might destroy honeybees indirectly by reducing floral diversity. Author: Tavascarow Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:03 pm (GMT 0) Or drill a couple of holes at the opposite end from the entrance & screen it to get through venting happening? Just a thought but the solid bottomed TBH hasn't got a lot of natural ventilation going on. The bars just about seal the top & you only have the entrance for vapour exchange. Fine in a dry arid climate but if it's like yours (& mine) not enough IMHO. _________________ Don't worry Bee happy. Member of Cornwall Natural Beekeepers http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/CornwallNaturalBeekeepers/ http://www.fotothing.com/Tavascarow Author: RyanB Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:05 pm (GMT 0) I have a question. If you have a solid top (no top bars), does this not defeat the purpose of the quilt? There will be no ventillation at the top of the hive through the quilt if the top is solid. _________________ Currently Fermenting: Cherry Melomel - 1Gal Pear Melomel - 1Gal White Pyment - 1Gal Root Beer Mead - 1Gal Mead Cyser - 5Gal Author: Victoria Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:52 pm (GMT 0) Well... I put an entrance reducer on the door, which in retrospect minimized ventilation. The bees never sealed in in place with propolis, which makes me think they didn't really want it there. So I have removed it and also taken out one of the bars at the rear of the hive to increase ventilation. Maybe I should prop the lid up too? Thanks for the help. Author: Viggen Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:36 pm (GMT 0) It takes more than a veil to deal with these puppies. It would appear that the season is not starting well for the local bug/bee population. Very negative PR on this one. http://www.azfamily.com/news/At-least-3-people-attacked-by-swarm-of-bees-in-Phoenix-88508837.html _________________ We perish not from lack of wonders but from lack of wonder. Author: Garret Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:21 pm (GMT 0) Victoria, do you have any thoughts as to why it got so mouldy in the hive? How did you prepare the hive to over winter? I have no direct experience with mouldy combs but I have heard that the bees will clean them up and reuse. _________________ I'm not as serious as I look! Author: Ivan Subject: Re: Warre Hive Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:13 pm (GMT 0)
Although Berhard says that you shouldn't mix top bars and no-top bars I think it's perfectly OK to give a new colony something to hang their combs from just as you suggest George... I have done exactly that I have been puzzling over what might be the problem with have some boxes with top bars and some without and I cannot think of an answer so I hope Bernhard (Yoo Hoo Bernhard) might be able to reply Ivan Author: Gareth Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:03 pm (GMT 0)
Good point. It would tie in with the fact that their compound eyes are very sensitive to short rapid movements. So the moral is, just smile (slowly) and don't blink! _________________ Gareth We are Earth's Pandoran species, yet we are blissfully oblivious to what we have let out of the box - Susan Blackmore. Author: Tavascarow Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:05 am (GMT 0) There are others here working africanised bees in HTBHs as well. Don't think you would want to go veilless though.  _________________ Don't worry Bee happy. Member of Cornwall Natural Beekeepers http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/CornwallNaturalBeekeepers/ http://www.fotothing.com/Tavascarow Author: CCD Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:45 am (GMT 0) You are forgetting one small detail - honey bees are not native to North America. So the European black bee is no more natural or adapted to survive there in Iowa than Carnolians or Italians. Author: CCD Subject: Re: motivation or encouragement Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:38 am (GMT 0) [quote="Viggen"] After each meeting the immediate thought during and afterwards is - " why bother? Life is just too short to take on this many problems willingly". My thoughts exactly. I have long been interested in beekeeping and at first borrowed Ted Hoopers book from the local library and later bought it. He knows his bees, but his attitude of constant medling with the hive and "you are irresponsible if you don't open them up to check every 10 days throughout the season" made me think exactly the same as you - what a load of unnecessary hassle. In fact, so much so that I put my beekeeping plans on hold until I found this forum. Regarding africanised bees, you could always check out Oscar Perone's method. (Google him - he has a blog and website in spanish, but it is just about understandable with an online translator). His is very much a leave-alone method that seems to yield him results with africansied bees in Argentina. Author: biobee Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:29 am (GMT 0) Are you using solid or mesh floor? _________________ Friends of the Bees www.friendsofthebees.org The Barefoot Beekeeper podcast http://biobees.libsyn.com/ Author: Victoria Subject: Mold Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:12 am (GMT 0) Upon inspection, my topbar hive is full of mold. There are still bees, but there is mold on most of the comb. I don't know how to proceed. Should I remove moldy comb? Let the bees manage it? I'm assuming the honey is not edible? Any insight is much appreciated. |
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