sahtlinurk
House Bee
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2009
- Messages
- 334
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- uk, Abingdon
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 12
This is a part of an article from stoneleighfarms.com and i found an interesting "hi tech" system which mr.Ramsey is using. has anyone tried it ??
Lauri.
The hives Ramsey maintains aren't like your father's bee hives.
"All of my hives are polystyrofoam," Ramsey said. "It has an R-value of 7.5 compared to an R-value of 0.5 for wooden hives. This means that the hive stays cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
"In older hives, sometimes up to a third of the hive would be fanning their wings inside to keep the hive cool and to take the humidity out of the honey before they cap the cells. My bees no longer fan.
"I've discovered a very elaborate cooling system, and I can control the environment for the bees," Ramsey continued. "Since the bees no longer spend time fanning, that means that they are out there making more honey.
"Most beekeepers get 85 pounds of honey a year per hive. We get 225 to 250 pounds a year per hive. We harvest every four to five weeks instead of once a year."
In each of Ramsey's hives is a computer chip that constantly monitors the temperature and humidity in the hive, and fans turn on and off as needed.
Ramsey provides a liquid sucrose and lavender oil mixture for the bees to process when honey supers are not on the hives. "The bees are breathing in the lavender scent, and that is an irritant to the bee mites, which plague so many hives. The lavender knocks the mites back just enough that the bees can handle them, so I'm not medicating, and that allows me more productive time, and it's better for the bees as well."
Unlike older hives, the frames these bees use to store the honey in the hive are built out and made of high-grade plastic. Therefore, the bees have to make very little wax. .....
and i mean ventilation, not polyhives
the original web page
http://www.stoneleighfarms.com/Content/in_the_news.htm
Lauri.
The hives Ramsey maintains aren't like your father's bee hives.
"All of my hives are polystyrofoam," Ramsey said. "It has an R-value of 7.5 compared to an R-value of 0.5 for wooden hives. This means that the hive stays cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
"In older hives, sometimes up to a third of the hive would be fanning their wings inside to keep the hive cool and to take the humidity out of the honey before they cap the cells. My bees no longer fan.
"I've discovered a very elaborate cooling system, and I can control the environment for the bees," Ramsey continued. "Since the bees no longer spend time fanning, that means that they are out there making more honey.
"Most beekeepers get 85 pounds of honey a year per hive. We get 225 to 250 pounds a year per hive. We harvest every four to five weeks instead of once a year."
In each of Ramsey's hives is a computer chip that constantly monitors the temperature and humidity in the hive, and fans turn on and off as needed.
Ramsey provides a liquid sucrose and lavender oil mixture for the bees to process when honey supers are not on the hives. "The bees are breathing in the lavender scent, and that is an irritant to the bee mites, which plague so many hives. The lavender knocks the mites back just enough that the bees can handle them, so I'm not medicating, and that allows me more productive time, and it's better for the bees as well."
Unlike older hives, the frames these bees use to store the honey in the hive are built out and made of high-grade plastic. Therefore, the bees have to make very little wax. .....
and i mean ventilation, not polyhives
the original web page
http://www.stoneleighfarms.com/Content/in_the_news.htm