Chewing low-density polystyrene

[Sutty]

A couple of days ago I moved a colony from a poly nuc to a wooden national hive. The crown board had 2 porter escape size hole in it so yesterday I covered it with a 2cm thick sheet of low density polystyrene weighted down with a disc of thick ply about 25cm diameter I had lying around. I leftthe varroa board in to help them find the entrance.
this morning I found a big pile of chewed-up polystyrene on the varroa board, and on further inspection they had completely removed all the polyst6 under the disc and a bit more, allowing access into the roof space.
A quick calculation reveals that they had removed well over 450cc of expanded polystyrene in about 24hrs!
I've removed the remainder, and covered the holes in the crown board with ply.
Anyone else known them to remove low-density poly? They seem to have left the high-density stuff in the poly-nuc alone!

 

[gmonag]

If you use Celotex/Kingspan/Recticel, it has an aluminium coating which the bees cannot chew.

 

[madasafish]

If you use Celotex/Kingspan/Recticel, it has an aluminium coating which the bees cannot chew.

They chew through it if desperate for more space.
An issue with my own nucs made from it.

Filler solves all problems though!

 

[Sutty]

Shouldn't be in need of space as just gone into a bigger hive!

 

[sean-a]

They chew through it if desperate for more space.
An issue with my own nucs made from it.

Filler solves all problems though!

Hmmmmm.....I was just about to glue some thick aluminium foil to the thin bit on some swienty hives to stop them chewing through....they regularly seem to bore their way to a new entrance.

Once I have repaired the wax moth damage that is!

 

[bingevader]

Anyone else known them to remove low-density poly? They seem to have left the high-density stuff in the poly-nuc alone!

We've two poly nucs that get chewed, phasing them out for good old wood!
Reluctant to stop using them though as we can't recycle them.
Thinking about it though, and the dangers of microparticles, I think we'll just have to shelve them in perpetuity!
Great stuff!

 

[Erichalfbee]

We've two poly nucs that get chewed, phasing them out for good old wood!
Reluctant to stop using them though as we can't recycle them.
Thinking about it though, and the dangers of microparticles, I think we'll just have to shelve them in perpetuity!
Great stuff!

We have an old car buried in our garden. We discovered it when “tidying” when we moved in.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

We have an old car buried in our garden. We discovered it when “tidying” when we moved in.

There was a farmer in Crugybar - Dewi Gwarygorof, whose land had the river Cothi running through it (My club owns the rights). Dewi was one of those farmers who loved fiddling with machinery etc so usually kept his cars and tractors going until they were well past economic repair, or even incapable of being repaired any more. He used to use his old vehicles as bank revetments where erosion was getting to be a serious concern, the Cothi up in that area runs through alluvial soft shale which means the river bed was forever shifting. The vehicles would just sit in the water and slowly entrap passing shale until eventually they would disppear in the gravel and the bank made sound.
Unfortunately 'They' in the 1980's 'New broom' Environment agency made him take them all out. from the great floods in 1987 onwards the river has turned into an ever changing ecological wasteland as the river runs riot through the upper reaches from Edwinsford to the gold mines.

 

[Finman]

Construction poly board does not stand bees' sewing. And less it stands ant chewing.
When bees draw foundatuins, they even use blue board as cell material and combs will have blue color.

Bees can chew dence poly box too. They widen small upper entrances. I glue a piece of garden hoast tube into the hole. PU glue is only one which glues poly material = that tube.

They widden main entrance too, and then it is better to cut a small slice and repair the entrance.

 

[The Poot]

I would imagine, with the varroa board in place in this weather, they were after a bit more air space / ventilation.
They were disappointed that the crown board was not propped up on four matchsticks.........

 

[The Poot]

We have an old car buried in our garden. We discovered it when “tidying” when we moved in.

What a lot of work to go to, burying it, instead of offering it to a breaker’s yard.
Mostly around here the farmers cunningly disguise old machinery as bramble banks.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Mostly around here the farmers cunningly disguise old machinery as bramble banks.

My grandfather explained it to me years ago - taking my Uncles Owen and Tewdwr who farmed both the old family farms at Upper and Lower Cwmberach. There was always loads of old machinery and cars rotting away in lonely corners of the farm (some still there to this day, even though both are long ago in their graves). I asked my grandfather why they didn't just sell the whole lot off for scrap, even if they only made a few pints on the deal, although some of the stuff was so old it probably had some antique value. "there lies the problem" he said "they are sh!t scared that they might sell something for the price of a pint, then the buyer goes away, cleans it up and sells it on for a small fortune - they would rather it rots away to nothing in the field than see someone 'get one over' on them"

 

[Erichalfbee]

My grandfather explained it to me years ago - "there lies the problem" he said "they are sh!t scared that they might sell something for the price of a pint, then the buyer goes away, cleans it up and sells it on for a small fortune - they would rather it rots away to nothing in the field than see someone 'get one over' on them"

Now that makes sense.

 

[Finman]

Hmmmmm.....I was just about to glue some thick aluminium foil to the thin bit on some swienty hives to stop them chewing through....they regularly seem to bore their way to a new entrance.

Once I have repaired the wax moth damage that is!

Why dont you buy real polyboxes. What idea is to setup aluminium folios?

I have noticed that your frames and foundations are really expencive. 10 frames cost more than the polybox. It is better to save by making frames.

 

[bingevader]

We have an old car buried in our garden. We discovered it when “tidying” when we moved in.

There's a car chassis holding up our downstairs loo!
Not sure the poly nucs can be repurposed so effectively!

 

[Gilberdyke John]

My grandfather explained it to me years ago - taking my Uncles Owen and Tewdwr who farmed both the old family farms at Upper and Lower Cwmberach. There was always loads of old machinery and cars rotting away in lonely corners of the farm (some still there to this day, even though both are long ago in their graves). I asked my grandfather why they didn't just sell the whole lot off for scrap, even if they only made a few pints on the deal, although some of the stuff was so old it probably had some antique value. "there lies the problem" he said "they are sh!t scared that they might sell something for the price of a pint, then the buyer goes away, cleans it up and sells it on for a small fortune - they would rather it rots away to nothing in the field than see someone 'get one over' on them"

There must be a mingling of blood with a lot of our East Riding farmers who seem to operate on a similar principle

 

[Finman]

There's a car chassis holding up our downstairs loo!
Not sure the poly nucs can be repurposed so effectively!

Wat means repurposing of beehives? Except harvest honey or catch and release.

 

[steve1958]

Anyone else known them to remove low-density poly? They seem to have left the high-density stuff in the poly-nuc alone!

When I started beekeeping a friend of mine decided to cut costs and make his own hives using kingspan.
The bees attacked the hive walls removing polystyrene depositing outside the hive.
We were concerned how much might end up trapped in the honey

 

[bingevader]

Wat means repurposing of beehives? Except harvest honey or catch and release.

Plant pot?