A Self-build Observation Hive

A Self-Build Observation Hive

+++ See the 2014 post, right, for the main BeeBug Blog +++

I've been looking at this option for a while but have been put off mainly by the fact that the bees have to be removed after a month or so as there really isn't enough room. So I've aimed at an all-year round hive using frames two deep and three high. This is a bit of a compromise as a lot of the time the cluster will be hidden between the two frames but I'm hoping there will be enough activity on the outer faces of the frames to make it worthwhile. 

The whole project uses pieces of wood and glass that I have in my garage but I did buy a bench saw so I could cut the wood to more precise dimensions.  The design is based on National Brood frames, from that starting point every other dimension is dictated simply by giving the right amount of bee space in each of the three dimensions.. 

main frame assembly

Completed unit

Here is the completed unit with 6 frames installed. The doors are screwed on rather than hinged as this will give better access. Removing the screws is no hardship.
The frame is screwed to mounting blocks on the inner wall of the wooden shack that I decided use for their home.
The top feeder is a standard 1lt plastic feeder. The entry tube is made up from some bits of waste water piping.

I had a small queenless colony that I had decided to 'dispose of' but though they could have a second chance as inmates. To get them in I shook them on to three new frames (on having freshly drawn comb and some honey - taken from another hive) and let them settle down in the hive. Then as darkness fell I took them to the shack and simply lifted each frame out of the hive and inserted it in the OH.

 Some 30 bees where left behind and these were captured and run-in from below by loosening the screws on a glass door and making a bee-sized gap at the bottom.

Bees on outer face of centre frame

The running-in ramp

I added a temporary cardboard run-in ramp as shown. Worked reasonably well. And of course I plugged the entrance, they have to stay inside for 3 days now to reset their navigation. Next day they were sounding a bit angry, obviously don't like being caged in.

I'm a bit concerned about ventilation and heat build up so I've incorporated a temperature probe and also added a latch to the shack door so it's always slightly open. And all the windows and doors now have screens to block the sunlight. It's totally dark in there now - just the slightly scary buzzing of a thousand bees.

Chez Bees - entrance on left of doors

I use fairly powerful reading glasses plus an LED light source (virtually no heat) to view them.

The first surprise is that there are some drones in there. So there must have been a queen around this year or else one of the workers has been laying drone eggs.

Thursday 28th May

Bring out the dead

Unplugged the entrance today as they've been in for 3 days and about mid-day they started to emerge.A few went back to the location of the original hive but gave up on that after an hour or two. There were lots of dead bodies being dragged out so they are still doing their housekeeping. But little else. Their only hope is if I get a queen cell from somewhere.