Let the bees tell you

[jenkinsbrynmair]

for the few left who still believe bees like a gaping hole over their head, when in reality the only reason they don't do anything about it is the hole is two large - try putting a bit of mesh there.
This is a clearer board I left on a hive for thirty odd hours - another 12 and I reckon they'd have finished the job!!

 

[Curly green finger's]

That's happened to me with a clear crown board they propolised over the the hole.
They didn't hang about either your girls.
You should share that else where maybe the bbka site

 

[Angry_Mob]

The same thing happens in Abelo poly hives, this was capped with the poly disc and they still propolised it closed.

 

[fiat500bee]

for the few left who still believe bees like a gaping hole over their head, when in reality the only reason they don't do anything about it is the hole is two large - try putting a bit of mesh there.
This is a clearer board I left on a hive for thirty odd hours - another 12 and I reckon they'd have finished the job!!View attachment 22090View attachment 22091View attachment 22092View attachment 22093View attachment 22094View attachment 22095

You know, with your experience you should have known better.

 

[Madge]

The same thing happens in Abelo poly hives, this was capped with the poly disc and they still propolised it closed.

A propolised Abelo ventilation disk that was covered with a polystyrene plug is not so much a case of 'the bees telling you' something, but because it is a convenient place to stash their propolis. A proplised mesh floor (I've found that on several occasions), or Jenkins's example, is a case of them trying to close a gap. Different reasons. Paste a bit of mesh on a side wall, and they'll fill that with propolis. There's no gaping hole there.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You should share that else where maybe the bbka site

OMG you don’t look in there do you?

 

[Curly green finger's]

OMG you don’t look in there do you?

No I've forgot my password

 

[pargyle]

A propolised Abelo ventilation disk that was covered with a polystyrene plug is not so much a case of 'the bees telling you' something, but because it is a convenient place to stash their propolis. A proplised mesh floor (I've found that on several occasions), or Jenkins's example, is a case of them trying to close a gap. Different reasons. Paste a bit of mesh on a side wall, and they'll fill that with propolis. There's no gaping hole there.

No ... but it's a foreign body inside their environment that they are unable to remove ...it's not about storing propolis .. what they are trying to do is isolate it from their envirinment. If you think a bit more about a piece of mesh .. perhaps it creates a cold patch in the hive and they want to be rid of that.

I've seen enough propolis closing up any gaps to know that bees don't like draughts and that propolis is their principle means of sealing things up. I think you've got it wrong Kitta ...

 

[Erichalfbee]

No I've forgot my password

Busy there aren’t they?

 

[MuswellMetro]

Reading the loses every spring on the BBKA forum i think BBKA must be British Bee Killing Association

 

[Madge]

...it's not about storing propolis .. what they are trying to do is isolate it from their envirinment. ...

I've seen enough propolis closing up any gaps to know that bees don't like draughts and that propolis is their principle means of sealing things up. I think you've got it wrong Kitta ...

I didn’t get anything wrong.

I did say they use propolis to close gaps (draughts). And, yes, they also use it to cover up unwanted things like dead mice - and, yes, I didn’t mention that. I also didn’t mention that they use propolis to strengthen combs - and that isn’t an unwanted surface, if it?

PropolisIs is their medicine, and they store it where they find a suitable surface. That’s how they’re using the Abelo ventilation discs (and frame lug ends, as we all know).

 

[pargyle]

I didn’t get anything wrong.

I did say they use propolis to close gaps (draughts). And, yes, they also use it to cover up unwanted things like dead mice - and, yes, I didn’t mention that. I also didn’t mention that they use propolis to strengthen combs - and that isn’t an unwanted surface, if it?

PropolisIs is their medicine, and they store it where they find a suitable surface. That’s how they’re using the Abelo ventilation discs (and frame lug ends, as we all know).

But ... this is what you posted: " A propolised Abelo ventilation disk that was covered with a polystyrene plug is not so much a case of 'the bees telling you' something, but because it is a convenient place to stash their propolis."

My reading of this is that you were saying the bees were not propolising to close up the vent - it was just a convenient place to store propolis ... are you now saying that this is not what you meant ?

Or perhaps I misunderstood you ?

 

[Madge]

But ... this is what you posted: " A propolised Abelo ventilation disk that was covered with a polystyrene plug is not so much a case of 'the bees telling you' something, but because it is a convenient place to stash their propolis."

My reading of this is that you were saying the bees were not propolising to close up the vent - it was just a convenient place to store propolis ... are you now saying that this is not what you meant ?

Or perhaps I misunderstood you ?

Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. There is no gap or draught above an Abelo ventilation disc if it’s covered with one of the polystyrene discs that come with the crown board. They’re not closing a gap; they’re storing propolis.

 

[Swarm]

So leave big gaps instead then?

 

[Madge]

So leave big gaps instead then?

I don’t understand. How did you come to that conclusion? If you’re talking about the Abelo crown boards - for the third time, there are no gaps or draughts above the ventilation grids if they’re closed off with the polystyrene discs.

 

[derekm]

when interpreting honeybee behaviour you have put it the correct context. A rough internal surface in a tree hollow is likely to be uncoated (with propolis ) wood. Wood inside a living tree has a very high moisture content and thus exposed rough wood will be shedding this water into the nest atmosphere. The roughness promotes a higher rate of water transfer tbrough its larger surface area. This water vapour is very expensive in energy terms for the bees to remove. So it is very advantageous for rough surfaces to be covered with a vapour retardant barrier e.g. propolis that also decreases the exposed surface area.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Reading the loses every spring on the BBKA forum i think BBKA must be British Bee Killing Association

Loses of members??

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Loses of members??

Bees - it seems to be a hobby of theirs - almost a requirement to join the forum

 

[madasafish]

Bees - it seems to be a hobby of theirs - almost a requirement to join the forum

No ..it's the BBKA magazine continuously -without fail every year - promoting lifting CBs and applying matchsticks...

 

[Murox]

No ..it's the BBKA magazine continuously -without fail every year - promoting lifting CBs and applying matchsticks...

The BBKA gives every appearance of being 'sine qua non' in beekeeping, and even though it is not a regulatory body appointed by government to establish national standards or to ensure consistent compliance with them, many defer to it. However the public face of the association does little to dispel the notion that it is a stale, oligarchic bastion of exclusivity, lamentably slow to embrace diversity or change.