an experiment

[enrico]

Ok..... I give in, there goes another myth, my experience is different but I accept this may not always be the case.
E

 

[BeeJayBee]

Ok..... I give in, there goes another myth, my experience is different but I accept this may not always be the case.

Wedmore was the person who invented the crownboard/matchsticks combination. http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21671 But that's by the by.

Isn't the most important thing the angle of the cells? They're angled downwards from the entrance. If there's already an occupant, will altering that angle have an impact on the development of the larva? Looks like we'll soon find out.

 

[Tom Bick]

Isn't the most important thing the angle of the cells? They're angled downwards from the entrance. If there's already an occupant, will altering that angle have an impact on the development of the larva? Looks like we'll soon find out.

Precisely Beejoyfull bees may build comb in a different orientation than the typical hexagon pointing down but I bet the angle sloping down to the mid rib is constant I would like to be proved wrong by the way.

By turning the frames at 90* on its end has put the bees into a similar situation that their tree has fallen over that is if we are to imaging they were in a tree in the first place and their survival strategy to deal with such disasters is making the best of the situation they have.

It will be interesting how they manage stores and I wonder if they will start to rework the combs.

 

[user 6228]

got the wiring working down to the bottom of the garden.. the initial tests show there is surprising little temperature difference in the whole interior hive surface at rthe moment. just 3 degrees from top to bottom

 

[norfolknchance]

secure

As part of looking at bees and heat, I wanted to see how bee work in an tall insulated space. The bees would need to returned and source from a conventional hive since swarming time was occupied with ... Dealing with swarms. The solution was to make 2 or 3 boxes that would take 6 nAtional frames turned 90 degrees with bee permeable ends. This would give a 40 litre hive about 800 mm tall. 16 Temperature sensors and the wiring was embedded in the walls of each box. Challenges were making the frame supports strong and firmly attached to the wall. This was done by putting nylon inserts in the walls like they do in chipboard furniture.

This shows the supports and the temperature sensor pcb.

to see how warm it was the hive was tested with a heater in the top and then again in the bottom.

from the begining this hive was not going to be the easiest to manage. We selected the smallest colony we had
which that was on 6 frames of brood . These were put in the top box they had a few stores in these, the remaining frames were placed in the bottom box. The last bees walked in

They are in now and seem from the outside thriving

Next job is to do the wiring down the garden and put the multiplexer in water proof box.

Is that Cellotex you are using,will say your construction seems excellent but te stand looks like it could fall in a small wind just my opinion

 

[drstitson]

"Is that Cellotex you are using"

I'd hazard a guess that it is Recticel!!!!!!

 

[drstitson]

"but I bet the angle sloping down to the mid rib is constant I would like to be proved wrong by the way. "

presumably evolution has already sorted that - any bees that fail to build comb with downward slope to base of cells would not be able to accumulate significant stores!!!!

 

[Tom Bick]

"but I bet the angle sloping down to the mid rib is constant I would like to be proved wrong by the way. "

presumably evolution has already sorted that - any bees that fail to build comb with downward slope to base of cells would not be able to accumulate significant stores!!!!

Yes and that's why we know this experiment is ill thought out. But following this thread may be improved next time.

 

[user 6228]

"but I bet the angle sloping down to the mid rib is constant I would like to be proved wrong by the way. "

presumably evolution has already sorted that - any bees that fail to build comb with downward slope to base of cells would not be able to accumulate significant stores!!!!

have you put water in honeycomb. and then tried to get it out?

you will be surprised at how much disturbance it takes to get the water out even inverted.

I think the slope is evolutionary belt and braces for a tree waving around in a storm.

trust experimentation

 

[user 6228]

Is that Cellotex you are using,will say your construction seems excellent but te stand looks like it could fall in a small wind just my opinion

its going to be guyed in high winds

 

[itma]

...
By turning the frames at 90* on its end has put the bees into a similar situation that their tree has fallen over ...
It will be interesting how they manage stores and I wonder if they will start to rework the combs.

Dover Council were cutting up (down?) a tree when they discovered it had bees living in it.
So, they cut out that section of the trunk, loaded it onto a truck and off-loaded it at the Association apiary.
Its on its side, and the bees don't seem particularly disturbed...
What happens to it next is a very good question.

 

[user 6228]

Dover Council were cutting up (down?) a tree when they discovered it had bees living in it.
So, they cut out that section of the trunk, loaded it onto a truck and off-loaded it at the Association apiary.
Its on its side, and the bees don't seem particularly disturbed...
What happens to it next is a very good question.

thermally it would be best in its original orientation and the top covered and sealed with 50 to 100mm of kingspn or its ilk

 

[Tom Bick]

Dover Council were cutting up (down?) a tree when they discovered it had bees living in it.
So, they cut out that section of the trunk, loaded it onto a truck and off-loaded it at the Association apiary.
Its on its side, and the bees don't seem particularly disturbed...
What happens to it next is a very good question.

That was good of them would have been an interesting sight and perhaps a nice thing to have in the apiary, or not. Interesting all the same close to my association there is a wild colony and it is good to go and check it out from time to time.

Disasters happen to bees and we trick them into thinking one may happen every time we smoke the hive and trees falling over is perhaps one of the things they have to deal with. They have shown over the years that once established they will make the best of what they have.

 

[user 6228]

Another one bites the dust

it hasnt diminished their ferocity to intruders as this wasp found out

 

[BeeJayBee]

te stand looks like it could fall in a small wind just my opinion

its going to be guyed in high winds

A couple of slabs on the legs should be enough to keep it still.

 

[McNulty]

great work Derek.

I've just received and painted my first poly lang hive. I am thinking of having a bash at building my own and your threads have been great for ideas. I thought about a taller, thinner hive a few weeks back and its great to come across this thread. I would think the convection currents would be greatly diminished in this hive in winter. Im really looking forward to your conclusions

I have picked up this sheet of 40mm xps with a view to building a copy of my mb lang.

[ww.dctech.com.au/styrofoam-rtm-x] I cant paste the full link because I have too few posts

a lot more dense than recticel, a lot more resistant to water than recticel but obviously it doesnt have the alu film and also marginally poorer thermodynamically. Is there a problem with this sort of xps foam being nibbled by bees and is that why you have gone for the alu lined stuff?

 

[madasafish]

Bees chew any exposed foam as do wasps.. Sometimes if there is a small tear in the foil, they chew that as well...

 

[McNulty]

thanks madasafish,

do you mean they chew great chunks out of it making them useless in a few months or just nibble bits that you dont have to worry about for a couple of years?

 

[user 6228]

thanks madasafish,

do you mean they chew great chunks out of it making them useless in a few months or just nibble bits that you dont have to worry about for a couple of years?

They can tunnel great holes in it. Its often forgotten that bees are burrowing insects, Honeybees burrow in the rotten wood in tree hollows, to enlarge the cavity and find fixing points for the comb.

 

[madasafish]

thanks madasafish,

do you mean they chew great chunks out of it making them useless in a few months or just nibble bits that you dont have to worry about for a couple of years?

I have a TBH nuc insulated on the inside ends with Celotex. (and on the outside as well - and the sides- but I digress). Despite painting the inside insulation with masonry paint, the bees have gouged a hole approx 10cms in diameter and 1 cm deep in it... and that was a relatively small and weak nuc...working over 2 months.

Ungrateful wretches!




Further to diy hives, I have just finished a langstroth hive with supers in wood with a Derek style insulation box made from insulation. Despite my poor woodworking skills I found it quite easy and plan to make another. I am also now making my own (foundationless) frames from pallets.. I've made my first super one - only 19 to go and have 10 jumbo brood nests ones to make.

So far it's been surprisingly easy.. (Saw bench? what is that? I wish I had one)