Wormit hive frame type

[Otleybee]

A friend of mine has just been given some wormit hives. The only reference I can find states that these hives are "almost completely compatible with national frames" which is good news.

Does anyone have experience of this type of hive and a there any issues with using national frames?

 

[Poly Hive]

The Wormit was made by Steele and Brodie in err... Wormit Fife.

It is a national hive but with the rebate meant to stop the supers moving in transit to the moors. However that is also it's weakness as the bees love to glue the parts together. It is prone to breaking at the joint.

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

Poly Hive will be along presently. He doesn't like your lip!

Just the same as a National apart from the lip, I believe.

Ooh he beat me to it!

 

[Poly Hive]

I spoke to the foreman or rather ex foreman from S&B a few weeks ago re the lip and he told me that whilst the theory was great in practice there were a lot of issues with the said lip. It failed frequently.

PH

 

[drstitson]

any idea anyone re the german experience of lips on wooden hives?

 

[Hombre]

Ouch, achtung, ouch, ouch . . .

oh mein Gott, autsch, autsch, Gott verdammt

 

[Into the lions den]

A friend of mine has just been given some wormit hives. The only reference I can find states that these hives are "almost completely compatible with national frames" which is good news.

Yes, normal BS long lugged frames. No 'almost' about it.

However, this hive is a cussed thing to work with, and I cannot help having a sneaky feeling that whoever donated them does not like your friend! <G>

Think SLOW, and think a LOT of stings. The bees get seriously razzled up when you are separating the boxes. Originally they had a metal bar you had to unscrew each visit that ran across the lugs front and back to hold the frames down when separating the boxes, and you had to screw it back in again after each visit. Over time the bars got lost, and then the frames get attached by ladder comb to the frames in the box above, and you need to haul the upper box up by at least an inch to get sufficient hive tool purchase to get the lower combs back down. By this time the bees are not at their happiest. You need three hands, one to haul the box up, one to use the hive tool, and one to keep the smoker going.

 

[Otleybee]

Thanks a lot for your comments. My friend is a beginner so these hives do not sound the best for her. I will recommend a transition to national hives as her budget allows. The bees have been neglected for the last year and will need varroa treatment as soon as it gets warm enough so we were thinking about a shook swarm to new hives anyway! National frames are available from our local supplier so that bit at least is easy.

 

[drstitson]

perhaps a temporary solution would be to add some timber strips around the top edge to bring all up to one level and then use normal supers on top?

or leave the wormits as bait hives?