Poly hives

[Lancs Lad]

Theres no one single way of doing it right, but there are many ways of doing it wrong

 

[Erichalfbee]

Perhaps we could all do a bit of science
Duplicate our bait hives.
One wood. One poly
Put them next to each other and see
I might do that

Poly for the last three years and from now on,

I'm a poly convert but Stan likes the wooden boxes so we keep both

 

[Beefriendly]

You really need a cold winter to see big differences. Several years back ran 6 poly and 6 wood side by side.
Poly used less stores and were on 5 to 6 frames of brood come March vs 2 to 3 in wood.
Saw that 2 years running ofater 2 cold winters. We were getting minus 15 s

 

[For want of a better word]

Perhaps we could all do a bit of science
Duplicate our bait hives.
One wood. One poly
Put them next to each other and see
I might do that




I'm a poly convert but Stan likes the wooden boxes so we keep both

I have both in same apiary with native Amm bees and have not noticed any difference!

But then the greatgreygreenslimeytamarrivervalleyallsetaboutwithgrokkelsandemmets.... is semi sub tropical!!

Chons da

 

[Finman]

I have both in same apiary with native Amm bees and have not noticed any difference!

But then the greatgreygreenslimeytamarrivervalleyallsetaboutwithgrokkelsandemmets.... is semi sub tropical!!

Chons da

Native black bees are very same as other races.
Black bees is the last bee, which arrived from warm Africa to Europe.


You do not notice. You have so strong imagination.

You see fairys and unicorns.

 

[Woodland bees]

Well last winter I had a mix of poly and cedar. The one that had the most stores left was poly, then a cedar. The two that had the least stores were a poly and cedar.

Interestingly a cedar hive that's only been on a brood and a half this last year was the slowest hive to build up but has produced just as much honey as the double brood poly.

I am in a warm coastal region though.

I'm put off by poly as our bees collect a lot of propolis and I find the poly hives damage easier than wood when inspecting. It's also annoying that many poly hives are random sizes, either bigger on the outside or bigger on the inside than wooden nationals.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm put off by poly as our bees collect a lot of propolis and I find the poly hives damage easier than wood when inspecting.

You might be using your hive tool incorrectly?
Never lever against the hive and you won’t damage it.

 

[Woodland bees]

You might be using your hive tool incorrectly?
Never lever against the hive and you won’t damage it.

I've switched to a thinner tool and with care cause less damage but the softer poly hives still easily dent. But even parts where the tool isn't used can become damaged as our bees stick them together thoroughly.

I know I could re-queen, so far that's no 89 on the list of reasons to re-queen.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes sticky bees are a real pita
Some of mine are worse than others.
I use Swienty boxes but I prefer top space so I have glued a bee space eke in the tops of the boxes. I think that helps with moving the frames about

 

[Swarm]

Well last winter I had a mix of poly and cedar. The one that had the most stores left was poly, then a cedar. The two that had the least stores were a poly and cedar.

Interestingly a cedar hive that's only been on a brood and a half this last year was the slowest hive to build up but has produced just as much honey as the double brood poly.

I am in a warm coastal region though.

I'm put off by poly as our bees collect a lot of propolis and I find the poly hives damage easier than wood when inspecting. It's also annoying that many poly hives are random sizes, either bigger on the outside or bigger on the inside than wooden nationals.

I experimented with poly for nearly ten years and have gradually phased them out. My boxes are now Cedar only.
Over Wintering ability is as much to do with the colony as the material of the hive it lives in. I've never seen any remarkable difference between them either, the Cedar colonies always matched the poly.

I don't think it matters which sub species entered Europe first or last, Finman. Amm was able to adapt to various conditions but none of those resembled Africa.

 

[Antipodes]

Is anyone using a polystyrene sugar syrup feeder, for example like the one sold to fit the Paradise hive?
Does it need coating in something to stop the sugar syrup leaking through it?

 

[Angry_Mob]

Is anyone using a polystyrene sugar syrup feeder, for example like the one sold to fit the Paradise hive?
Does it need coating in something to stop the sugar syrup leaking through it?

Yes, use lots of then. I paint inside with white masonry paint. Some people melt wax and coat with that.

 

[Antipodes]

Thanks Angry, great.

 

[bingevader]

Perhaps we could all do a bit of science
Duplicate our bait hives.
One wood. One poly
Put them next to each other and see
I might do that

We had a crazy time catching swarms this year.
We used poly nucs and warre boxes.
(The poly nucs came with the last colonies we bought)
The bees were happy to occupy both.
Unfortunately one of the poly nucs was on a concrete plinth on the ground.
We won't do that again.
Let's say, the county employees who cut the school grounds enjoy using their strimmer!

Ps. The warre boxes are 25mm red cedar.
We also used a 6 frame national nuc I'd made out of 3/4 inch ply and they bees used that too!
So, in my totally unscientific study, the bees don't seem terribly fussy about what bait box they use.

 

[BMH]

Yes, use lots of then. I paint inside with white masonry paint. Some people melt wax and coat with that.

I find exterior oil based gloss is better. Bonds the poly and makes it easier to clean.

 

[Angry_Mob]

I find exterior oil based gloss is better. Bonds the poly and makes it easier to clean.

I've painted the feeders with exterior gloss as well, found that the masonry seemed to cover it better. Although haven't tested them a prolonged period to compare.

I do paint the exterior of the hives with a solvent based exterior gloss, more durable and better finish than the masonry.

 

[Erichalfbee]

We had a crazy time catching swarms this year.
We used poly nucs and warre boxes.
(The poly nucs came with the last colonies we bought)
The bees were happy to occupy both.
Unfortunately one of the poly nucs was on a concrete plinth on the ground.
We won't do that again.
Let's say, the county employees who cut the school grounds enjoy using their strimmer!

Ps. The warre boxes are 25mm red cedar.
We also used a 6 frame national nuc I'd made out of 3/4 inch ply and they bees used that too!
So, in my totally unscientific study, the bees don't seem terribly fussy about what bait box they use.

I know they are happy to use both but I was thinking rather of having two boxes of the same internal capacity but one poly, the other wood next to each other.
I have in the past had a poly 14x12 nuc and a National ( both poly, though) next to each other and watched scout bees checking both out before finally settling on one.
I have been reliably informed that bees find wall thickness important. My poly hives are thicker than the wooden ones.

 

[ericbeaumont]

I have been reliably informed that bees find wall thickness important.

Perhaps that is why bees choose hollow trees; as architects and engineers they make decisions based on the principle of form follows function, whereas many beekeepers...

This piece from the Natural Beekeeping Trust puts it in a nutshell:
...it is tempting to conclude that, from the point of view of the bees, all hives are the same or, to put it another way, any hive will do. This attitude is widespread, even among some who style themselves natural beekeepers or those who adopt a so-called balanced approach to beekeeping. The latter label prompts the question: whose balance? One can be forgiven for concluding that the ‘balance’ in question refers only to the beekeeper.

To be bee-centred rather than man-centred means setting aside the desires of the beekeeper and asking: what would be the form of a hive designed by the bees themselves? Of course, since we are not bees, we can never truly answer that question, but we can at least try. Having tried, we can then explore what compromises we are asking of the bees when we place them in man-made hives.

Last sentence ought to make us stop and consider.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You were doing so well until you quoted Heidi and her mob the 'natural beekeeping trust' a band of money centric wooly headed charlatans who are pretty clueless on bees and beekeeping in general.
Beehives encrusted in Bullsh!t about sums them up.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You were doing so well until you quoted Heidi and her mob the 'natural beekeeping trust' a band of money centric wooly headed charlatans who are pretty clueless on bees and beekeeping in general.
Beehives encrusted in Bullsh!t about sums them up.

Some of them are probably well intentioned if a bit wacky to our minds. They become suspect when they profess to be right while everyone else is wrong and charge a fortune to admit the gullible to their club. The wattle and daub concoctions are one thing but to turn the whole thing into a “praise the bee” religion is another.
Better to be sawing trees down, hollowing out a portion and hoisting it back up as a log home for bees.
As long as you don’t foist your practices onto others as the only way.
One of my customers home schools his children and they live as self sufficient as they can adhering to some sort of Buddhist inspired “religion. I don’t care that he does but he refuses to have his six children vaccinated. Some beliefs cause harm.