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Author Topic: Observation Hive Done and Loaded With Bees  (Read 2167 times)

Offline flyingron

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Observation Hive Done and Loaded With Bees
« on: May 07, 2018, 03:10:43 pm »
Here's some pictures:  https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhweWaa

I finished building last week the DW10 ten frame "SwingView" observation hive from plans from www.bonterrabees.com.    It was straight forward enough.   The bulk of it is built out of three 2x4's that I had lying around and then a few pieces of select 1" pine.   The only real expense was the glass.

Anyway, I picked up the nuc from a local bee keeper Saturday.   I left it sit outside near where the observation hive exit was going to be.   The next day I set the hive out and move the frames over.   This was relatively non-traumatic other than I had set the nuc on a 5 gallon paint bucket and promptly kicked the whole thing over before I got started but the bees weren't too annoyed.    Moving the frames was straight-forward, but I was curious how dumping the bees that were in the bottom of the nuc box into the hive was going to be, but since the hive was leaning at a slight angle bumping the box on the top of the hive did about the same thing as doing it over a regular hive body.   I thought getting that big piece of glass back into place over the bees was going to be dicey but it wasn't bad.

I left the whole thing outside until the bees went in at night and shut the gate and then wheeled it up and put it on the bracket.   This morning I got up to find them coming and going just fine (they're bringing in a lot of pollen).    I caught sight of the queen (we're calling her Bee-atrice), so it looks like the installation was succesful.   It's need watching the waggle dance when the girls come back loaded.   My wife says I need to put a bench or something in front of it to make it easier to watch.

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Observation Hive Done and Loaded With Bees
« Reply #1 on: May 07, 2018, 03:20:41 pm »
Congrats!  they are really neat to have.  mine is in my living room, but doesn't have bees in it right now. 

You will get hours of pleasure from watching and it's cool to see the reaction of visitors   :grin:
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline flyingron

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Re: Observation Hive Done and Loaded With Bees
« Reply #2 on: May 07, 2018, 04:53:55 pm »
Yeah, my daughter wasn't too thrilled with the concept of them being in the house.   However, my three-year-old grandson thinks it's way cool.

Offline Bamboo

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Re: Observation Hive Done and Loaded With Bees
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2018, 09:19:30 pm »
Looks great.
What is the diameter of the tube that goes outside and how long is it?

Not sure I would get managements' approval to put a hole through the walls of the house. :cool:

Offline Acebird

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Re: Observation Hive Done and Loaded With Bees
« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2018, 08:36:16 am »
Not sure I would get managements' approval to put a hole through the walls of the house. :cool:

Do it through a window like a portable air conditioner.  That way if you sell the house you don't have any repairs.
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Offline flyingron

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Re: Observation Hive Done and Loaded With Bees
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2018, 08:59:45 am »
Yes, the plans include a quick picture of how to build a laminated insulation board thing that you can shut the window on like a portable airconditioner to make the bee exit.

In my house, I just drilled through the wall.    The tube is about seven inches long I would guess and then there's another 4" the bees have to crawl through to get from where the hive mounts on the wall to the inside of the hive proper.   It doesn't seen to bother them at all.

I saw one of these hives at the Smithsonian once and they had a much longer tube to get outside (it was also clear plastic so you could watch the go in and out).    My girls just crawl down the tube and out on the landing board (really just the vertical part, they don't seem to care that the horizontal part is there) and leap off.   When the return they just land on the vertical place and go in side.

I was quite impressed with how quickly they adapted from nuc box to the hive sitting outside to having to go in and out of the tube entry.

 

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