They Think It's All Over.

[Dishmop]

You have started something now Dishmop. Cool.

How did you get other half/family to agree to an indoor hive? Mine are used to the bees that come home with me after inspections etc but I would never get away with 4 frames worth.

Wasnt really any discussion.. I just did it.

I find it less hassle than when I had fish tanks....which are now full of Royal Albert china.

 

[Dishmop]

Advice for anybody who does build one.

Dont get big ideas.
You've got to lift if of the supports if its a rotating one like mine and carry it outside thro doorways etc...
Also a lot of the pics you will find on google show hinged panels... Problem with that is that when you have had the glass panels off and are closing up again, the bees are over spilling the frame.. Better to have slide into slot or just lay-on and clip, or screw.

I use 4 national brood frames which I feel is big enough.

Depending on how you want to manage them you will probably have to split twice a year.
Last year I split only once because I took the 4 year old (? blue) queen out and left them to make a new one but when I was splitting them it started to rain and being in a rush to get them back together and indoors I put the QC in the nuc by mistake. It took quite a while for newly created queen to start laying, but I think that happened to a lot of new queens last year.
They did however go into winter with more bees than as shown in the pic for the pevious year.

 

[Erichalfbee]

My first ever mentor has one on her bedroom wall.

 

[Dishmop]

If you download the pics from the website mentioned above they are well worth studying for ideas.

Dont forget you have to make a way of keeping the bees in the hive when you disconnect the entrance tube AND stop those already in the entrance tube from leaving the tube and flying around the house. They panic and mess on the curtains, which gets a slap around the ear.

I made a metal plate that slides in runners and is operated by a piece of welding rod leading to the end of the frame and thro a hole to the outside, which is moved backwards/forwards over the entrance hole. A slot in the front of the frame into which you can slide a bit of metal will work the same, probably better, because the bees wont have any nice things to glue together!!!!!
This photo shows basically how the frame rotates. Fitted into the top of the joint with the red X is another short piece of plastic pipe which the hive sits on by use of a hole thro the bottom where it is marked in green.

The red x joint is clamped (held) in place by the two main supports by cutting slots/groves/sawcuts/ bits hacked out with chisel whatever. The bottom runner is to keep the two main supports together. I have loosened things up a bit just for the photo.

I had to do a bit of photoshopping there to show things better. The white is part of a pice of card I put under hive to catch rubbish that they chuck out thro the mesh floor.

 

[Dishmop]

Just noticed the temperature here is nearly 18 deg.
Lots of bees.
Thats 7 days in a row they have been out.

 

[Dishmop]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121284378569?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

This one is designed to sit on a table or whatever with the end against the outside wall.

 

[psafloyd]

It was 7ºC on Sunday and they were flying when the sun came out.

 

[lebouche]

The 16 day weather report suggests 15&16C the week after next. Changes every day though...

 

[itma]

It was 7ºC on Sunday and they were flying when the sun came out.

About 7C here now. Sunny, but the ground still very cold from last night.

Just walked the hound round the block.
Before 0930, saw my bees working at 5 different gardens. 3 of them were patches of ornamental heather.

 

[Dishmop]

About 7C here now. Sunny, but the ground still very cold from last night.

Just walked the hound round the block.
Before 0930, saw my bees working at 5 different gardens. 3 of them were patches of ornamental heather.

did they wave and say hello?

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

did they wave and say hello?

Hard frost here in Sheffield in the mornings for the last few days and today. No flying yesterday but midge out in the sunny areas.

 

[itma]

did they wave and say hello?

My lot aren't quite that friendly.
But I did pause long enough to see which direction they went home. And, within 100 yards (as the bee flies), I'm pretty confident that I know where they were going back to.

 

[Dishmop]

Looking at my observation hive last night I turned it around to look at the other side and was surprised to see a fair bit of movement. Normally in this temperature they just sit there. Doing nothing. Got the magnifying glass out and a bit suprised to see the queen has been busy and theres half a frame of sealed brood.
There are more bees on this side of the hive and because they more or less completely cover the frame I cant always see the comb.
I cant see whats on inside of the frames but theres nothing on the outside of the two frames the other sise of the hive. Not even a lot of food. There are bees but not as many as the other side.
This is the fouth spring for this hive and the earliest I have seen brood in there.
New queen last year and she didnt start laying until late July time.

 

[Dishmop]

and today I watched the queen laying.

Its all going too well....

 

[gregior]

So it looks like were set for fine warmish weather this week with plenty of good foraging days available,but there are increasing signs that we will get a cold northerly plunge next week.I was wondering if there are enough nectar sources available for them to stock up on as all my hives are getting light,but i want to avoid feeding if i can.All my hives were working hard today but were collecting mainly pollen.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have one colony in a similar state. If it needs feeding as it gets cold I'll put a block of neopoll on.I'm sure all traces will be gone by the time I take a crop. Have you got willow? Both male and female flowers supply nectar.

 

[Dishmop]

I recon that my hives are at least 8 weeks ahead of last year.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I recon that my hives are at least 8 weeks ahead of last year.

I want honey!!!

 

[gregior]

I have one colony in a similar state. If it needs feeding as it gets cold I'll put a block of neopoll on.I'm sure all traces will be gone by the time I take a crop. Have you got willow? Both male and female flowers supply nectar.

Yeah we got plenty of willow,i thought it was only the male plant that produced nectar-you learn something new every day!

 

[Dishmop]

I want honey!!!

So do the bees..