Is this a crazy idea?

[Naturewest]

Here in northern Arizona it seems one of the most common places for honeybees to set up residence is in the ground inside of irrigation or water meter boxes.
This got me thinking about building a topbar hive that would mimic this setup. It would have earth floor and I would use cmu blocks for the walls. I would fill the voids of the blocks with soil to create more thermal mass. The top would be typical topbar construction made from wood. Obviously they would be permanent and could not be moved, but that's okay I think.

With the floor being soil I think it would be really good at cleaning itself through microbial action. And the thermal/moisture levels would be more constant. Since the bees seem to choose this in the wild, why not work with it?

Any ideas or concerns to consider?

[chux]

Sounds like a fun project and experiment. And the bees would still bee mobile. Build a wooden hive body that will fit the bars. If you must move the colony, just transfer them to the box. Good luck.

[Naturewest]

Chux, that's a good point. Thanks for the idea.

I've got the bars all built, just need to set and fill the blocks and construct a lid...then find some more bees. I had some located, going off a tip from a friend. I found some coming and going from an in-ground box at a neighbor of a friend. Left a note on their door to have them give me a call so I could relocate them.

They called me the next day thanking me for letting them know, and wanted me to know they had an exterminator come out and poison them. Bummer! I should've let them be.

[BeeMaster2]

Chux, that's a good point. Thanks for the idea.

I've got the bars all built, just need to set and fill the blocks and construct a lid...then find some more bees. I had some located, going off a tip from a friend. I found some coming and going from an in-ground box at a neighbor of a friend. Left a note on their door to have them give me a call so I could relocate them.

They called me the next day thanking me for letting them know, and wanted me to know they had an exterminator come out and poison them. Bummer! I should've let them be.

Naturewest,
Keep in mind that AHB'S are the ones that prefer to use small in the ground voids for their hives, especially in your area.
Jim

[Naturewest]

Sawdstmakr,

You bring up a good point to which I'm still trying to understand. When I collected my first hive, someone mentioned that because the bees had built their hive underground they could be AHB. Being new to beekeeping became concerned about it and even questioned whether I wanted to take a chance with having them around my kids and pets. At first they didn't seem aggressive at all, I could hang out around the hive and open it to fill feeders without protection. As time goes on and their numbers have quadrupled, I'm getting a little more uneasy about opening the hive. However, as long as I use smoke, wear a veil and gloves, and move slowly there is no problem. As the hive grows will the bees become increasingly aggressive? Some beeks say requeening is absolutely necessary to ensure they do not become "africanized", which has become synonymous with "downright mean". Others seem to indicate it doesn't matter if they're africanized or not, bees are bees when it comes to managing hives, and being AHB may be a good thing to maintain healthy hives in our area as they are more suited to our climate. Thoughts?

[BeeMaster2]

Sawdstmakr,

You bring up a good point to which I'm still trying to understand. When I collected my first hive, someone mentioned that because the bees had built their hive underground they could be AHB. Being new to beekeeping became concerned about it and even questioned whether I wanted to take a chance with having them around my kids and pets. At first they didn't seem aggressive at all, I could hang out around the hive and open it to fill feeders without protection. As time goes on and their numbers have quadrupled, I'm getting a little more uneasy about opening the hive. However, as long as I use smoke, wear a veil and gloves, and move slowly there is no problem. As the hive grows will the bees become increasingly aggressive? Some beeks say re queening is absolutely necessary to ensure they do not become "africanized", which has become synonymous with "downright mean". Others seem to indicate it doesn't matter if they're africanized or not, bees are bees when it comes to managing hives, and being AHB may be a good thing to maintain healthy hives in our area as they are more suited to our climate. Thoughts?

Naturewest,
First things first, in your area, I strongly recommend that you use full protection when working your hives. I do not say that lightly and I usually do not use any protection, especially gloves. I do recommend you do as I do and test your hives as I do with unfamiliar hives. I get close, wait for a responce, get closer and eventually pet the guard bees. Some bees will not let you get within 10' others do not let you pet them. I can pet all of my hives. I did have one hive that had at least one bee that would nail me at 10' once a week. I was always cautious with that hive. When they swarmed I used a bump bucket to put them in a box and when I bumped them off the limb I took about 10 stings to my head. I emptied them in a nuc but decided not to keep them and left the box open and they left. When that hive goes hot, it will be very difficult to re queen due to trying to find a queen with a full attack on. Read Michael Bushes The Practical Beekeeper to find out how to do it. Do a search and you can find it on line. I recommend you find a local beek and help him with his hives to learn the ropes.

African swarms often times are no more aggressive than European swarms and as you describe, start out pretty gentle until they have a hive worth protecting. They also grow in numbers very fast like you describe. Bee very careful. If you are going to bee a Beek where you live, check out the vented suites, Jacket and pants, from Mann Lake. They provide much better protection than standard suites.
Jim

[jayj200]

Get some rubber boots too

The swarm I caught got nastier and meaner every time I visited.
gave them away. they went beserk. they were then destroyed

[Tomas]

Bees setting up residence in these water meter boxes definitely sounds like a trait of Africanized honey bees. They’re really not that particular. I’ve seen this happen here in Honduras where I work with just Africanized bees. So…always be extra cautious when dealing with a hive in a location such as this. Make sure you’re suited up well. It is easier to take off your suit if the bees are docile than put on your suit when they are riled up.

I’ve seen swarms move into the same type of water boxes (and sewer boxes) here in Honduras. But with the same frequency they move into the roofs of houses. I don’t really see them preferring one over the other—it’s more like where ever there is an empty cavity. I’ve noticed the same with the trap hives that I normally have stacked behind the house. Sometimes they choose the box on the ground at the bottom of the stack while other times it’s the box on top of the stack.

Are you talking about the box being literally underground? It seems like it would be very uncomfortable to get down on your knees to work a hive that is below ground. Is there a danger of it flooding if there are heavy rains?

Or is the idea that it would be built on top of the ground with the cement blocks and dirt floor? You could even go as far as hilling up dirt around it. The bending wouldn’t be quite as bad and you still sort of have the effect of being underground. What’s the plan for a cover?

Otherwise I say go for it. Try it out. I know that I definitely like experimenting with different materials for making tbhs.

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Tom

[jredburn]

NatureWest
Bees in a valve meter box or an open air nest will have some African genes in them.  It can be be 5% to 95% or anywhere in between.  They can be mild and gentle or mean as a wild hog with an attitude.
They do not relocate well.  They do produce a lot of honey but you must run a swarm prevention program all the time.
If you move them or disturb the nest, it helps to stick them in a box and seal them in for 3 or 4 days.  Do not feed them, do not use a vacuum on them, but give them plenty of ventilation.  When you turn them lose, put a queen excluder over the entrance.  Keep the entrance small, 3/4" diameter is about all.  Put an anti robbing screen across the entrance, the higher up on the box the better.  Don't go in the nest any more than you absolutely have to.  Put an oil bath SHB trap on the bottom but use DE instead of oil and put a Plexiglass top cover on the hive.  The sun light drives the SHB into the darkness at the bottom and the DE kills them.  Feed them HBH in the Spring and Fall. 
I do 20 to 30 removals for the City a year and have gone from a zero survival rate to about 70% today.  The advice above comes from over two years on trial and error.  (mostly error)