This photo is from when I first got the hive. In order to transport them we had to move at night when they were all inside, otherwise some of the colony would've got left behind. Also ideal so they don't get overheated. For transport you want to make sure the combs are pointing parallel with the wheels of the car so that they do not end up smacking against one another when braking/accelerating. Using a strap to hold the lid on is recommended. (Wouldn't want to end up with a bunch of angry bees in your vehicle whilst driving!) To seal up the entrances staple mesh.
The placement of the hive in front of the tree is so they get full sun in the morning and shade later in the day when it's too hot.
After getting the bees home I added a second full size box so they could expand and have space to build up more reserves. The top 3rd box being for feeding. During the fall to feed bees you mix 1:1 sugar and water in a mason jar with small holes poked in the lid. Towards the winter you give them 5-6 jars 2:1 sugar : water.
When adding the 2nd box it's recommended you move 2 or 3 frames up to the new box
Now for the hard part... Before winter I had to change out the bottom board of the hive from a screened one back to the solid one. The screened one helped ventilate the hive during the hot months. Changing the bottom boards required taking each box off (they are very heavy at least 60 lbs) I had 1000s of bees on & around me when doing this but not one stung me! If you remain calm they will remain calm. Still this was a very exhilarating first experience for me! There are at least 30,000 bees in this hive!!
Interesting read. I've kept hives before. Totally love the rewards it brings. You can get good and bad hives. Meaning the temperament of the bees. Some are totally cool being handled and a few I've been around are always a little more difficult by nature. Sounds like you got a really cool Bunch to work with. Have you looked at flow hives? They give a maximum yeald of honey and disturb the bees the least. You still have to maintain the hive to keep it disease free or your bees can get sick and contaminate many bees in hives nearby and it can continue to spread. Same as any hive if not properly maintainted. They are a lot less work harvesting the bees don't even notice it happening and they continue to produce honey as they don't have to rebuild the hive after a harvest. And g'day I just followed you 😇
Interesting that the temperament of the same species varies, I didn't know that! I have not yet looked into flow hives, I think I remembered reading somewhere that they were not actually good for the bees but since my memory is foggy and you are telling me this I'm going to check it out! So thankyou :) I also followed you!
Professional bee keepers have given them a bad rap. The reason being is what I mentioned earlier about maintaining the hives to not let diseases set in to contaminate other local bee hives. They are very concerned that amateur newby wanna be keepers see them as a safe alternative to having anything to do with the bees. Just turn a tap on and collect the honey. So it really is a good idea to learn with the original style hives and maintenance schedules. That way you are not afraid of working with the bees and have a good comprehension of what you are meant to be doing. That is why you have heard they are bad for the bees. But the hives were invented here in Australia by a dope smoking hippy in a well known weed hippy town. Nimbin. He didn't create them thinking of getting rich as he is now. He was just trying to make life easy for him and the bees. But the story goes keepers all ove the world flooded him with money and orders to fill. It took off real fast and the whole business/ company has had to employ the whole family to run it. Funny thing is he is the ceo and they told him he neended an office so he got one. Then he was clogged up with messages n stuff at that address. Well in his own words he didn't realise cos no one told him he actually had to go into the office and do some work. lol he was just busy still hanging out in the shed with his dad thinking up and making other stuff like they have always done and mostly surfing. It hasn't changed him from what I hear on the grape vine. ..... As for the aggressiveness levels of bees. It does fluctuate vastly between different hives but mostly bee keepers that sell you a hive pick out one that is very timid and easy to work with for you. So it is no surprise that yours are pretty cool. Most hives I've atten are pretty casual but there have been some I really dreaded going near and would let others attend them as I did not like suiting up and smoking them. I don't even like wearing a shirt. Peace sis
Wow thanks for all the info! That's a cool story about the inventor of them. I'm sold, now I want one haha!
Ps really hot days are when the bees are at their laziest and easiest to handle.
Peace out sis.
That is so intense!! And not even stung once...you are a Master of being Calm then! :) :) Great work, I would suggest that you use the #homesteading tag. Many people check that tag daily for good stuff like this <3 <3
Thankyou! <33
This is amazing. No stung! Did you even wear protective gears when you changed out the bottom board? Thank you for sharing how you handle them!
Sort of; a net/hat, sweatpants & a hoodie was my 'protective gear' Thankyou for stopping by ^_^
Love your work! 🔥 Please upvote back, thanks! 🙏🏼
Seeing a project like this is inspiring. My wife and I are looking forward to getting back to the land so we can look at setting up a hive.
I had no idea you could open the hives without a full suit. All the books and videos I have explored always talked about it. I guess if the bees trusted you and you kept your calm, like you said, they would have no reason to sting.
I am curious if there is a particular reason you used yellow for the hive?
Thankyou! I got into it with only self-taught knowledge through youtube & google and it's going well so far. This channel on youtube showed me you did not require a suit, though I did still use a net hat and wear pants/hoodie for the bottom board changing. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3mjpM6Av4bxbxps_Gh5YPw
I did not choose this particular colour it came that way, though bees do prefer light colours. I think it's because darker colours remind them of bears!