Bluebees bottom board

[Ben Framed]

Les it has been a while since Paus and Beemaster 2 introduced this concept to me/we/us here at Beemaster. I can not remember if they posted plans, or pictures, or just simply described how it was done. I might have a little different set up as they, as I only use one screen. Mine is not double screen as I stuck to using a solid bottom.

                                                                Heres What I Did

I started out with a flat bottom blank, of proper size just as I would in building a regular bottom board. Then made oil pans the width and length of a hive which would fix on the bottom within the bounds of box rest. I made the height of these pans about 1 1/2 to 2 inches tall. I winged it by laying the pan on the bottom, measured what the height of the box rest should be in order to accommodate the pans. I attached the new 'sides' the proper height to house the pans. Added a trap door which is located at the rear for removing and cleaning the oil pan from time to time. The front I made solid as I did the sides. I attached number 8 Hardware Cloth on top of this making it bee proof but not beetle proof. This looked like a box with a open screen for a top.
The Number 8 is just large enough to allow beetles to enter (to their death) lol.

Next I added 3/4'' box rest to the top of this, just as I would in making a regular bottom board. I also added a narrow landing board on the top front of this. So, as far as the bees are concerned nothing new except the oil trap beneath the screen. So its business as usual for the bees.

With this you will not have need of beetle traps anymore in your hive. This will do them in.
Just as Jim and Pause taught me, the more beetles that are exterminated in the oil pan, the more the rest seem to be attracted until one day you will not notice hardly any beetles in your hive. They are done in. most folks use regular vegetable oil but I add a good coat of mothers vinegar before adding oil. The oil floats on top of the vinegar seems to help retard mold form forming.

The drawback is you must be careful not to spill the oil when inspecting a hive. We do not want any of this oil in our brood boxes. So far I have not had a problem. Also the hive must be level for obvious reasons.

Maybe Paus or Jim has actual plans, I just cannot remember...

Phillip

[Lesgold]

Thanks for that Phillip. That?s the same system that a lot of people are using down under. My biggest issue is    obtaining the mesh we need to do the job ( what you call hardware cloth). It?s quite scarce in my area. I was talking to a beekeeper just before Christmas who was working on a new, modified style of bottom board with a oil trap. He and a few other beekeepers were getting very good results with this system. This group were also working on finding the best oil for the job. From memory, they were heading towards paraffin oil as it doesn?t go rancid like the veggie oils do over time. I now wish that I got more details as his quoted beetle knock down results were quite impressive. I finished the bottom boards yesterday. Will just take a photo and post it. As I said in the beginning, I don?t worry about beetle traps for this type of bottom board as the bees seem to keep beetle numbers under control quite easily. Where beetle infestations are out of control, the oil trap would be a good addition. I have basically stopped using beetle traps now and tend to rely on strong hive development as a control measure. If I have a hive that is weak or is given too much space, the beetles can dominate unless I take action quickly.


Cheers

Les

[Lesgold]

The finished boards. It would be a simple task to re design the board to take an oil tray for better control of SHB. Just need to give the paint a chance to dry and will pop them onto hives in a couple of weeks. These bottom boards will replace some of my solid bottom boards. It?s time to slowly phase them out.

Cheers

Les

[Ben Framed]

Your welcome Les,

I was fortunate to find a roll of number 8 at an old time type hardware store. It was old stock. No telling how long it had been sitting on the shelves...

One very important think to keep in mind about SHB is once they get a foot hold and go to the larva stage, the problem is compounded by thousands. They work their way out of the hive and burrow in the ground to reemerge in unfathomed numbers and it seems this can happen very rapidly.

I like the Bluebird bottom you have shown. I can see (in theory) where it could be used in the place of the screened hardware cloth.

Phillip

[Ben Framed]

Lesgold

The finished boards. It would be a simple task to re design the board to take an oil tray for better control of SHB

Les you posted as I was posting! I like it, it looks good!

Your set up looks basicly like my screen set up with the exception of the oil pans added.

[Lesgold]

I thought it would be similar. Yes, the SHB once established and flourishing, can be a pain in the butt. An interesting observation that I have made is the type of ground seems to impact on the beetle population. I have about 20 hives at home on hard, shale type ground that struggles to grow anything of value. Beetle numbers in this area are lower than some other hives that are located on sand. It appears as though the beetles breed better in the softer soil. I have to be a little more careful in the second area. I had large beetle numbers in the early spring but at the moment, numbers are quite low. I would have thought with high temperatures, humidity and rainfall there would have been an explosion in numbers. It just hasn?t happened.(as yet) I have 8 worm farms in old bath tubs. The beetles used to infest them badly when I fed the worms shredded veggie scraps. These days the worms are on a diet of coffee grounds and horse manure and the problem has almost disappeared. Obviously SHB don?t drink coffee.

[The15thMember]

An interesting observation that I have made is the type of ground seems to impact on the beetle population. I have about 20 hives at home on hard, shale type ground that struggles to grow anything of value. Beetle numbers in this area are lower than some other hives that are located on sand. It appears as though the beetles breed better in the softer soil.

Your observation is absolutely correct, although it's the pupating, not the breeding, that is better in the softer soil.  From "The Beekeeper's Handbook" by Sammataro and Avitabile: "[Hive beetles] complete their larval stage in 10 to 16 days and then drop to the bottom board, where they crawl outside in order to pupate in the soil up to 100 ft (30 m) from the hive entrance, preferring light sandy soils."       

[Lesgold]

Good information there. Thank you for that. A large concrete slab 100? in diameter under each hive will be the obvious solution. Lol.

[Ben Framed]

lol.   Unfortunately, maybe not? Dr Jammie Ellison reported during his research at the University of Florida, some larva escaped from his lab in the middle of the night and the next morning on his way in, he found some crawling down the front steps, all concrete. These creatures are hardy. 

[Lesgold]

I?ve just come inside after robbing and extracting 4 boxes of honey. Saw 4 beetles in total. I wonder where they have gone? Have you guys in the north pinched them all? Don?t know what?s going on. There was heaps during the spring and early summer. I?m not complaining about it. I?m sure they will be back soon.

[The15thMember]

Good information there. Thank you for that. A large concrete slab 100? in diameter under each hive will be the obvious solution. Lol.

lol.   Unfortunately, maybe not? Dr Jammie Ellison reported during his research at the University of Florida, some larva escaped from his lab in the middle of the night and the next morning on his way in, he found some crawling down the front steps, all concrete. These creatures are hardy. 

Eww!    Unfortunately Phillip, I believe you are right.  100 ft. seems a conservative estimate according to this article from Rusty Burlew, published in the American Bee Journal: "The larvae gather together near the hive entrance and wait for the witching hour. Just after dusk, under the cover of darkness, the larvae wriggle from the hive and drop to the ground. This group exit from the colony has been described as a 'mass exodus' or a 'larval regiment.' As soon as they hit terra firma, these wandering larvae begin to look for a place to burrow into the soil. Most find a spot within three feet (90 cm) of the hive entrance.  But worry not. Wandering larvae are resilient and strong. If soil conditions under the hive are not perfect, the larvae will take off in search of something better. Such vagabonds have been known to travel 220 yards (200 m) in search of better soil. Their primary concern is soil moisture, especially summer moisture. Relentless in their pursuit of ideal conditions, larvae have been known to wander for up to 48 days and still manage to pupate successfully."  *shudder*

[Lesgold]

They are lovely little creatures aren?t they. I can still remember the day I caught my first swarm and popped them into a hive. Was crouching down watching my new bees come and go and noticed two little black blobs land on the hive entrance and march right in as if they owned the place. I only had the hive for two hours and the nonsense had already started.

[BeeMaster2]

During my first year of beekeeping, I built a screen top board and put it on my hive right at sundown. Within seconds a SHB landed on the screen and I killed it. Over the next 30 minutes I must have killed close to 100 SHBs. It was nonstop beetles landing on top of that screen. While I lived in Jacksonville, I used to open the tops of my hive every day and kill SHBs that were on top of the screens. Most hives had ten or more. I had to bee quick to get them all.
Jim Altmiller

[Lesgold]

I remember as a young bloke playing space invaders on a machine in a local cafe. You had to have good reflexes and a keen eye. Those skills have come in handy over the years. Unfortunately, I have never been able to get the perfect score when it comes to squashing beetles. Lol.