problem?

[Essexgary]

Hi all, apiguard off last sunday, and I lowered the inspection tray back to its normal place. Feeding started. Now, I have noticed about 10/20 bees hanging around the underneath of the mesh-floor (outside) and the corner of the beehaus, where the leg meets the pastic seems to be getting a lot of interest. I have the wasp guard on, and with them being a new-ish nuc, covered up the left hand entrance holes on the wasp guard. So in effect they have 2 holes on the right hand side to get in and out. This has been working well with a nice queue most days. But I'm wondering why some bees are collecting underneath and also why they are landing on the stand, trotting underneath etc.. I can't tell if they are getting in that way but will check when I inspect at the weekend. Imagine there is a dollop of syrup permenantly where the coloured plastic meets the grey plastic, just where the stand is bolted on and you'll have a good idea where the activity is happening. I haven't spilt any syrup, that I can tell... Any thoughts? Thank, Gary

 

[madasafish]

I've had similar experiences with a TBH when feeding. I once overfilled the feeder and syrup fell through the OMF onto the floor..

Result: bees around outside.

I imagine they smell the syrup. They usually disappear after 1-2 hours..

(colder here so bees give up quicker!)

 

[malawi2854]

Sorry to ressurect this slightly old thread - but thought I would post my experience, which sounds suspiciously similar to yours.

I won't go into the detail - but during the summer, on about the hottest day of the year, it was necessary to close the hive up for a day, and move it across the garden (don't ask!) - anyway, when I returned, the "bee-tight" box, turned out to be far from bee-tight.

I have a good few thousand bees clustered in the very same spot you mention, on the underside, where the legs are attached.

After about 5 minutes of laying on the floor under the Beehaus, and watching their movements (when all was returned to normal, and I'd shifted the majority of the clustered bees), I saw that they seemed to be gayly walking in and out of a hole which I couldn't see, within the folds of plastic on the underside of the box.

The hole must be tiny, only 1 beespace, as flow through it was small, but still, not very good.

I wedged a piece of brillo-pad-type-stuff in the gap as hard as I could, and ovserved for several minutes more - before decided the whole appeared to be sealed, and I could leave it be.

Might be worth you looking at. I've mentioned it to Omlet, who are singularly uninterested.


These are the sights which alerted me to the problem in the first place:

 

[RoofTops]

If you closed it up for a day in summer the bees would have seriously overheated. You might have got away with it in a small colony in a wooden hive but not in something with insulation. Poly hives will overheat in a couple of hours if closed up even in cool weather with a strong colony. I don't think the BeeHaus is as well insulated as a poly hive but they would certainly have overheated quickly. You can't close up full colonys without adding some sort of top ventilation like a travel screen and opening up the varroa floor where fitted.

 

[malawi2854]

Yes, unfortunately, the situation was unavoidable - to be honest, the day wasn't THAT hot... but it was very sunny - they had been moved into the shade, but yes, did probably get rather toasty in there.

But regardless of that - the point of the post is that there does appear to be a hole in the Beehaus, in the location the OP mentioned... as I've found them using it (even when not closed up).

 

[oliver90owner]

Rooftops,

Never ever had a problem with my Dartingtons. Same basic design as the beehaus, both have OMF, so should have been OK, but thinking about it - you could be right.

That was one of the possible faults of the plastic construction, on the list I passed to omlette. I was thinking winter insulation was rubbish, what with convection currents between the inner and outer plastic walls. The summer insulation (lack of insulation) may also be compromised at certain times and under certain conditions.

It looks possible that it (the thin walls and air space) could also cause problems in full sun during the summer. For the former reason, I carefully filled the air space between the side walls with large sealed (left pinholes for air expansion) bags containing glass fibre or rockwool insulation <to reduce/prevent> thermal losses due to convection currents between the inner and outer leaves). At least it may help prevent the full sun overhating the interior so easily in the summer as well as preventing/reducing distortion.

It may possibly have been found before launch, had it been tested, over a long period, by experienced beeks instead of (in my view) just left to the purchasers to find any possible faults, followed by design/production changes.

That is one reason I have not yet looked in detail at the possible distortion of the main body (reported, and possibly experienced by myself, as bees getting behind the divider and perishing) likely happening in bright sunshine on one side and the other in relative shade (possibly causing such dimensional changes that bees may pass the divider, even if installed straight originally).

May look at it next year but not sure if it is worth the trouble now I have in-filled those 'convection' spaces. Had I over-wintered bees in this year the cover boards would either have been replaced with a ply one or the existing ones filled with polystyrene prills to reduce heat loss by convection currents inside the two horizontal thin layers of plastic of those coverboards.

Minimal costs involved here, to possibly make a satisfactory beetainer into a (much)better one?

However it is still too big to be easily movable, hence my intense interest in your new National Polyhive (especially the 14 x 12 variant, in my particlur case/situation) which would increase my ability to carry on (or increase) with a form of local migratory beekeeping as well as possibly improving over the wooden winter accomodation.

Regards, RAB

 

[John Ashby]

you can't just close up hives for a day, they will overheat in the summer, also when you let the queen know you were closing them down for the day, did she understand you? if you close the hive down during daylight there will be bees out foraging and will have to return back, how will they get in?


You shouldn't move a hive across the garden, the rule when moving hives is within 3ft or at least 3 miles


when beekeeping "the situation was unavoidable" should be tough on you, not the bees, plan ahead

 

[malawi2854]

I'm so glad that you felt so strongly that you needed to repeat what everone else said 4 months ago, that you registered 'specially.

Thanks


And allow me to reiterate...

But regardless of that - the point of the post is that there does appear to be a hole in the Beehaus, in the location the OP mentioned... as I've found them using it (even when not closed up).

Should you wish to ressurect any more dead conversations, please feel free to in the appropriate thread, started by me on the subject.

 

[oliver90owner]

you can't just close up hives for a day, they will overheat in the summer,

If you are meaning confining the bees to the hive - poppycock. Just not true. If you knew anything about the hive you would not have made such a statement.


You shouldn't move a hive across the garden,

Who says not? If you were a beekeeper you would know that the 3 feet/3 mile rule is one of thumb and to be strictly adhered to by only those with little experience.

how will they get in?

They wouldn't be able to, would they? Simple!

Was any of your post relevant to the thread? I think not.

So introduce yourself, and be welcomed to the forum, or are you not actually a beekeeper or prospective same, but as posted above? (zero colonies and no type for hives).

RAB