What did you do in the 'workshop' today

[user 6228]

Ive already run this past Stan after seeing it on FB
I don't think he is particularly happy with me

why?

 

[bjosephd]

20mm Recticel cover and if going permanently

up a tree 0.5mm Ally sheet on top of that

I love them. Like totem pole art installations w'bees.

 

[Erichalfbee]

why?

Because I might nag him enough to make me one...............

I love them. Like totem pole art installations w'bees.

Now that is a pretty thought.

 

[Millet]

Because I might nag him enough to make me one...............



Now that is a pretty thought.

I do not want to sound negative but why would you want one, it would be better of laid down on it's side and covered with soil for a bumble be nest, what practical use would it be for honey bees.

 

[bjosephd]

I do not want to sound negative but why would you want one, it would be better of laid down on it's side and covered with soil for a bumble be nest, what practical use would it be for honey bees.

Haha, well I like it.

I rather like your bumble bee idea too. I want more bumbles around! They are such a friendly bunch (apart from maybe them tree bumbles can be a bit feisty)

 

[Brian Bush]

Spent the afternoon planing rough sawn WRC planks. Use the router to cut a lapjoint and then glued them together using expanding wood glue. Placed the glued planks in a pile with a sheet of newspaper between pair and clamped them firmly together. Tomorrow I will have enough sides to build two 14x12 NUC boxes and four 14x12 brood boxes.

 

[user 6228]

I do not want to sound negative but why would you want one, it would be better of laid down on it's side and covered with soil for a bumble be nest, what practical use would it be for honey bees.

Extremely useful for honeybees, more problematic for a bee keeper wanting honey. These are research artificial tree nests. I'm using them to study honeybees in circumstances closer to a tree, but that can be taken part If required to get at the nest.
They could be used as a box for feral bees in a tree.

 

[Swarm]

How heavy are they? It's a nice idea but the concern has to be disease. With all the natural comb etc checking for AFB, EFB will prove very difficult.

 

[user 6228]

How heavy are they? It's a nice idea but the concern has to be disease. With all the natural comb etc checking for AFB, EFB will prove very difficult.

now that the wood is dry not so bad ~ 25Kg but outrageous compared to PIR only.
Re EFB, AFB that is a problem as it would be in a tree hollow.
These are not intended to be inspected. If they must, then that is the end of the experiment.
it might be possible to take a side off without destroying the colony and look inside or insert a camera.
These are for research not as an alternative to conventional hives. They could only be a considered as an alternative to tree hollows which is the intention.

 

[bjosephd]

As far as I'm aware bee inspectors don't go rummaging around woodland and forests cutting open trees to inspect wild colonies.

Also it's my understanding that due to modern forestry practices and depleted woodland there are diminishing suitable cavities for wild bees.

Creating suitable man-made alternatives seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Should I go and exterminate the 2 (that I am aware of) wild colonies within a bees flight from me to save efb/afb risk?

I would have thought that promoting wild colonies would be the thing. Unless we want to eliminate wild honey bees entirely and insist they only ever be treated as domestic live-stock.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Creating suitable man-made alternatives seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Should I go and exterminate the 2 (that I am aware of) wild colonies within a bees flight from me to save efb/afb risk?

I would have thought that promoting wild colonies would be the thing. Unless we want to eliminate wild honey bees entirely and insist they only ever be treated as domestic live-stock.

******

 

[Hivemaker.]

As far as I'm aware bee inspectors don't go rummaging around woodland and forests cutting open trees to inspect wild colonies.

They may just seal up any known colonies in trees with expanding foam, other bugs like wax moth will take care of the rest of the "clean up".

 

[bjosephd]

They may just seal up any known colonies in trees with expanding foam, other bugs like wax moth will take care of the rest of the "clean up".

"...ANY known colonies..." ??!!


Please don't tell me that bee inspectors go through woodland prophylactically filling all wild hives they find with expanding foam because they believe bees should only exist as domesticated kept livestock.

If they go marching through woodland looking for colonies to test, but leave them be if they test negative, then that's another matter. Surprising, but a different matter all the same.

 

[Hivemaker.]

"
Please don't tell me that bee inspectors go through woodland prophylactically filling all wild hives they find with expanding foam because they believe bees should only exist as domesticated kept livestock.

They filled any colonies reported to them by beekeepers and others because there was a recurring EFB problem in the area, nothing to do with believing bees should not exist in the wild.

 

[bjosephd]

They filled any colonies reported to them by beekeepers and others because there was a recurring EFB problem in the area, nothing to do with believing bees should not exist in the wild.

Well that makes mores sense.

 

[user 6228]

They filled any colonies reported to them by beekeepers and others because there was a recurring EFB problem in the area, nothing to do with believing bees should not exist in the wild.

Although the NBU does not regard feral colonies as significant factor in the spread of disease according to Nigel Semmence. Apparently it can almost always be traced down to beekeepers themselves or imported honey.

 

[Little John]

I beginning to understand the advantages of top bee space Nationals. Makes the construction simpler with flat crownboards and only one rebated moulding for the ends. Problem is any nucs I make will have to fit on this standard box so a bit more complex.

Hi Ben - yes, any transition period when both types of box are in the apiary can be a tad awkward. In my own case I didn't have any particular problem with the girls gluing stuff together or drawing connecting comb in the short term - that can always be cut away. What I DID have a problem with was the prospect of crushing bees when placing a TBS box on top of a BBS box when, of course, there'd be no beespace between those boxes.

So - I made up a few 8mm shims. Here's a shot of the last remaining two - on top of a third shim (with wider ends) which I made to fit a Hopkins Case - just in case the horizontal comb should be too near the Top Bars when Q/Cells are being drawn, as it's my first year playing with the Hopkins Queen-Rearing Method, and there's a learning curve yet to be undergone.

But - even when they've served their purpose, such shims can still prove useful - witness the Queen Excluder support frame ...
LJ

 

[victor meldrew]

Hi Ben - yes, any transition period when both types of box are in the apiary can be a tad awkward. In my own case I didn't have any particular problem with the girls gluing stuff together or drawing connecting comb in the short term - that can always be cut away. What I DID have a problem with was the prospect of crushing bees when placing a TBS box on top of a BBS box when, of course, there'd be no beespace between those boxes.



So - I made up a few 8mm shims. Here's a shot of the last remaining two - on top of a third shim (with wider ends) which I made to fit a Hopkins Case - just in case the horizontal comb should be too near the Top Bars when Q/Cells are being drawn, as it's my first year playing with the Hopkins Queen-Rearing Method, and there's a learning curve yet to be undergone.

But - even when they've served their purpose, such shims can still prove useful - witness the Queen Excluder support frame ...

LJ

Moral being ! Don't mix boxes


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Thanks LJ, Victor,

Yes, with just one colony now's the time to make boxes of one type.

I found the Michael Palmer YouTube videos and his sustainable apiary lecture. Some of his hives with massive populations for queen rearing look remarkable and pretty scary. Good luck with your queen rearing, I had to look up the Hopkins method.

. . . . Ben

 

[madasafish]

ALl teh above just shows what an abomination Nationals are...