A BEE thread....for those interested in beekeeping.

[sgtmom52]

You made a good choice in the eight frame medium hive, much better than a TBH in my opinion. If you only wanted to keep some pollinators around and not make honey TBH are fine but if your interest is in honey production Langs are the way to go. TBHs can be fun to play with but they present their own problems when it comes to feeding and harvesting.

I agree with this. Top bar hives seem extremely hard to over winter in the northern states too.

We also buy most of our equipment as unless you have a lot of spare time and cheap lumber, you can buy it just as cheap. The high costs are usually the shipping costs. If you can get equipment locally that is great. Mann Lake has free shipping if you order over $100.

We just finished building and are now painting 6 new nucs to get ready for splitting and swarm season. So far all 19 of our hives made it through the winter and I think it is going to be a busy spring for us.

 

[sgtmom52]

What are the chances of doing a "build it and they will come" for honeybees? I have been quite concerned over the absence of honeybees and strange dearth of any insect on blooms this spring. (Atlanta area).

I can happen ~ your best chance is during swarm season. I would think that is going on now in GA.
If you don't have some old comb to put in the hive as a swarm lure use a little lemon grass oil on a cotton ball inside the hive. I would also use natural beeswax foundation in the frames.

 

[WindStep]

An epi-pen can be a dangerous tool if not really needed. I used to carry one incase someone went into shock while I was doing bee removals. My doctor made sure that I knew that the person would be in a dire situation before using it and my insurance agent made sure that I stopped carrying one altogether. More problems can be caused by using one if not needed than the sting itself.

Yes I have never used one, but all down through my family every one just got worse. Well that's what they said.

 

[Mrs Rebecca]

For painting hives, will regular exterior paint work, or should I use something else? I only paint the outside, right?

 

[sgtmom52]

For painting hives, will regular exterior paint work, or should I use something else? I only paint the outside, right?

Any exterior paint will do. We use semi-gloss latex. You can paint them almost any color you want, except for dark colors which can make the hives too hot in the summer sun. Our hives are a grey/green, our feeders are yellow and nucs are going to be blue. The yellow and blue are leftovers from other jobs.

Some people prefer to finish them with linseed oil.

Only paint the outside. Do not paint the edges that touch as the paint will stick together making it hard to open the hives. The bees will make it hard enough anyway with propolis

 

[KsKingBee]

For painting hives, will regular exterior paint work, or should I use something else? I only paint the outside, right?

Go to any Lowes, Menards, etc. and in the paint department they will have 'Opps' paint. It is usually paint that was not colored right and sells for $5. gal. Buy only exterior paint, I prefer gloss or semi gloss and I always primed the wood first to keep the final coat from peeling. I no longer paint my equipment as I now have a boiling tank setup where I boil my wood in a mixture of paraffin and gum rosin. For a backyard keeper painting is still the best option. When I first started I painted all the surfaces of the boxes until I realized that the bees will 'protect' the insides with propolis as sgtmom52 stated above. I did however paint the edges without problem as long as I waited until they dried to stack them.

 

[sgtmom52]

This hive was painted by a friend of mine. He uses it to take to garden shows and bee demos, but his regular hives are just as colorful. The only problem with this type of design is it looks odd if you reverse boxes. A more abstract design is usually better.

 

[Beekissed]

That's BEE-a-utiful!!!

 

[WindStep]

My family wants bees for the honey, but... I told them unless they love me they will not do it and they aren't going to!

 

[Mrs Rebecca]

This hive was painted by a friend of mine. He uses it to take to garden shows and bee demos, but his regular hives are just as colorful. The only problem with this type of design is it looks odd if you reverse boxes. A more abstract design is usually better.

Oh My! That is beautiful! I am thinking I just want it to be a light mossy green. I have started some wildflowers and am planning on setting them out around the hives before the bees arrive.