How can I find my old pictures?

[nmitche2]

Hi,

 

I bought a purple Beehaus from new in July/August 2009. My bees arrived in October - and they have done nicely in the Beehaus, surviving the Winter. In June, I noted queen cells, so I divided the Beehaus into two 'hives'. Unfortunately (and I still don't know how this happened), one queen got through the hive divide and killed the other queen. I think she got over the top of the hive diver.

 

To my astonishment - in the divided two hives - I noted one side had broad frames full of honey (6 to be precise), however on the other side of the hive divide - I noted frames full of brood cells. Some how the bees were communicating between the divided hives in my Beehaus.

 

After taking advice from my local bee association - they suggested joining the two hives back into one hive. So I took out the hive divider and waited till 10pm at night to block up one of the hive's two entrances. Unfortunately what seems to be happening is the bees are flying out of the unblocked hive entrance, but returning to the blocked entrance, resulting in a lot of dead bees at the blocked entrance.

 

Can anybody suggest what course of action I need to take to help alleviate this sitaution

 

Thanks,

 

Nickm

[Old Speckled Hen]

I don't have a Beehaus, having only seen one at a couple of shows and on a course. The entrances are opposite eachother so i would have thought it very difficult for the bees to find their way round to the other side........but I may be wrong.

Can you not open up both entrances till they stop flying for the winter then shut one up.

[thedruggist]

I also have a Beehaus and although I have not had to artificially swarm them yet I have noticed that in the empty half I regularly get a few bees which duly can't get out and die. If they can get around the divide then probably the queen can too.

 

It would be very useful if someone from Omlet could advise on this and any remedial action we could take.......

 

Tony

[hanns]

Hi,

 

glad to hear your bees are doing well. If you are finding bees on the other side of the divider board it is unlikely that they have wandered over and cannot find their way back. Bees are very good at finding their way back to the nest, a possible explanation is that they have become trapped in there after an inspection.

 

If you have divided the colony then make sure that the divider board is sitting flush at the top by adjusting the white strip on the top of the divider board. You can pull this up to ensure that when a cover board or super sits on top there isn't a gap for bees to get through. If anyone needs advice on how to do this please call Omlet on 0845 450 2056 and we'll be happy to talk you through it.

 

Johannes

[Guest]

Johannes is quite right - unless there is actually a prolem (as highlighted on another forum a while back where a keeper reported bees passing by the divider ( yes, the divider) and not under it.

 

I have not yet invesigated this, (so is only third party information at this present time) but I do have a divider in place and have experienced bees 'escaping' into the unused part (noted when I recovered some stored frames for use elsewhere and was unexpectedly investigated by bees apparently from within the hive!). I was not unduly worried, as I expected them to return, if they were from there and maybe the divider is not quite quite sitting square in the position that it is fitted, or a gap at the top outermost end(s). There were a few dead bees in the unused part but I gave that no credence at the time.

 

I will in due course investigate further as I would, obviously, not want to use this hive for queen/colony production until sorted, if there is another design flaw to be dealt with and removed.

 

With regards to the entrance problem - is this not covered in the manual? Ohh dear, if that is so!

 

Simples really. Two colonies require two entrances. One colony, just the one entrance. After A/S and after recombining the two colonies, as one, at the front of the hive (with the new queen, if satisfactory), all the new bees will use that closest entry exit and only the foraging bees from the back half of the hive (the A/S section with new queen) might continue to use the rear entry. It is therefore normally left open until those bees die off naturally (about three weeks?). They will only have a short lifespan as foragers in the summer. The back entrance can then be closed. All this would normally occur before the period of possible wasp bother, and may not be quite so appropriate now. Leaving two entrances open until the winter is not a good idea if an effective divider is not in place!

 

Regards, RAB

[Sookie]

I don't have a Beehaus - I work off Nationals. Quite often I see the girls on the wrong sides of the hive. I think they just see/smell the hive and land, perhaps weighted down by pollen & other such goodies I also find some try and get in through the bottom. I have an open mesh floor (with varroa board) so they can "smell" the hive strongly through it.

 

Perhaps the Beehaus is best suited as a single hive. I try (as taught by my local BKA) to leave a few feet between each hive, that also gives me a clear working space behind the hive so I am not blocking the enterance (which raises issues with Guard Bees) or flight path of the bees trying to get back to the hive. I was also told by my BKA that this helps the bees distinguish which is their hive.

 

I am sorry this doesn't help your predicament. I can see why people like the look of the Beehaus (I also understand that for some people they are easier to work off) but they are an old system just jazzed up with some colourful plastic. I personally love the look of my National in my garden, which I can add Super after Super to if needed

 

The question I pose to people with a Beehaus is what would you do if your hive had a notifiable disease which requires that you destroy the whole hive, including the housing - an awful lot of money going up in toxic smoke

 

Sookie x

[v8landy]

The question I pose to people with a Beehaus is what would you do if your hive had a notifiable disease which requires that you destroy the whole hive, including the housing - an awful lot of money going up in toxic smoke

 

Sookie x

 

 

The above statment is incorrect, chemical cleaning is recognised for all notifiables.

 

 

Read page 30 on this link from beebase/Fera

 

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/downloadDocument.cfm?id=7

[daj198]

The question I pose to people with a Beehaus is what would you do if your hive had a notifiable disease which requires that you destroy the whole hive, including the housing - an awful lot of money going up in toxic smoke

 

Sookie x

 

Hi Sookie,

 

This was discussed here viewtopic.php?f=65&t=50003

[Sookie]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my earlier post.

 

V8landy, thank you for the link. I am already aware of this – but as it states on page 30 (which you kindly emphasised) “The spores of AFB in particular are strongly resistant to virtually all sterilising agents.”

 

You also have to remember to go by what the Local Bee Inspector tells you and what FERA instruct you – you could be left with no option but to destroy the Beehaus, they may not accept sterilisation as an option in some instances.

 

 

Page 28 of the same document comments under AFB Control - "Notifiable disease A Fera Bee Inspector burns infected colonies and the hives are sterilised by scorching.”

 

Also, how does the plastic, which the Beehaus is made, cope with being treated by such harsh chemicals?

 

 

 

Daj198 – very interesting thread you pointed me to there. PDCambs & Chickenanne raises some very thoughtful points, if making a hive out of plastic it is no longer breathable like wood and the use of plastic also raises the question of condensation on the inside of the hive (not very good for the poor bees and can kill colonies).

 

 

Chemicals will not 100% guarantee the removal of AFB.

 

 

As commented on numerous occasions in the Eglu/Cube section of this forum there are forming/casting problems with the plastic where tiny bubbles appear on the surface of the plastic which house red mites – what is to say that this doesn’t happen in the Beehaus and spores/infection could reside there. I know someone will tell me that by dousing/submerging it in chemicals will fix it but even submerging an object tiny air pockets/bubbles appear – you could be that 1 time this solution does not fix the problem and you infect a new colony which you house in your Beehaus.

 

I would like to know the figures of infection and deaths of colonies in Beehaus’ if someone has access to those figures.

 

 

 

I know that my National has it’s faults but I researched carefully before I invested and I know that I could source parts quickly and cost effectively if I need to replace parts (National Brood box - £20, Super £15, each frame once made by myself with foundation works out approx £2 each) so to replace one hive quickly I would be looking at around £100 with price of bees on top. A Beehaus on the Omlet website starts at £465. I already store spare parts incase I have a problem with a faulty part or quickly need to split a hive or house a swarm for someone. My local Bee Keeping Supplier are gauranteed next day (over night shipping) with a blanket rate of £8-£10 postage. Last week I ordered some essentials (which somehow I omitted from a previous order) from them Wednesday 1.30pm and it was at my front door by 9am on the Thursday, but I also know that if they happen to be out of stock I could go to another national supplier if it was an emergency that could not wait. Are there any other suppliers of Beehaus parts other than Omlet, are the parts inter-changable with other hive constructions?

 

Sookie

[v8landy]

V8landy, thank you for the link. I am already aware of this – but as it states on page 30 (which you kindly emphasised) “The spores of AFB in particular are strongly resistant to virtually all sterilising agents.”

 

Sookie

 

 

Yes it does say the above but then it says

 

Brood boxes, supers, queen excluders and other

bee-keeping equipment, which has been

thoroughly cleaned, of all wax and propolis can

be effectively sterilized by using commercial

disinfectants (e.g. bleach, Virkon S and others). It

is important that the manufacturer’s instructions

are complied with.

 

 

 

And what about all the poly hives that have been sold world wide?

[Redwing]

The question I pose to people with a Beehaus is what would you do if your hive had a notifiable disease which requires that you destroy the whole hive, including the housing - an awful lot of money going up in toxic smoke

 

Sookie x

 

Hi Sookie,

 

This was discussed here viewtopic.php?f=65&t=50003

 

Agreed - please use the other thread for discussion and keep this one to the original query, apart from avoiding the deviation of the original question it also means that anyone searching the forum can find relevant information. Thank you

[Sookie]

The question I pose to people with a Beehaus is what would you do if your hive had a notifiable disease which requires that you destroy the whole hive, including the housing - an awful lot of money going up in toxic smoke

 

Sookie x

 

Hi Sookie,

 

This was discussed here viewtopic.php?f=65&t=50003

 

Agreed - please use the other thread for discussion and keep this one to the original query, apart from avoiding the deviation of the original question it also means that anyone searching the forum can find relevant information. Thank you

 

I would if I could but it is locked by the Mods

[thedruggist]

Getting back to the original post...

 

Johannes you stated that the bees were possibly entering when I inspect. I don't think so as I leave that half covered and only peak in there quickly now and then. Any bees that get in there whilst clearing out the dead are ejected then the lid goes back on. They are somehow getting in from the brood chamber. It's not many 10 at most but they do seem to be able to get round the divider somehow.

 

Regards

 

Tony

[Guest]

I shall be investigating differential expansion. But I need to undo a couple of mods first, so if anyone else can check it out it would save me some hassle.

 

As an initial simple (crude) test procedure, continually spray cold water on the cooler side of the hive on a hot sunny day and observe any dimensional changes in any area where the divider could be in use. That should give an initial (crude) result which may then need refining and checking further...

 

Simple, really,..... as an initial investigation.

 

Regards, RAB

[Christian]

Please feel free to contact Omlet directly at info@omlet.co.uk Sookie. They will be able to answer your questions.

[thedruggist]

I've got a couple of pictures of the gap around the divider board, can anyone give me a clue as to how to post them?!

 

Tony

[Christian]

Here you go - viewtopic.php?f=45&t=21972

[thedruggist]

Ah - that's the problem, they're on my computer!

 

Tony

[Snowy]

Ah - that's the problem, they're on my computer!

 

Tony

 

Afraid you need to upload them to something like photobucket or Flickr Tony. Seems a pain, but you soon get the hang of it!

[eghambee]

I've had my Beehaus and bees for about a month now, and don't seem to be having any problems with bees in the empty half.

 

I initially set the Beehaus up with empty Supers on the top with a contact feeder in one above the new brood.

 

The bees transferred okay (much easier than I expected, as a new beekeeper it was quite a daunting prospect!) but i was a bit concerned about the number of bees hanging around the Supers and also the end panels. I double-checked to make sure I'd put everything in place properly, and all seemed well, but they did seem determined to try to get in where the Supers sit on top of the brood box. Mind you, slopping excess sugar syrup everywhere probably didn't help!

 

All is well though, they can't get in.

 

Now, apart from a few who always seem to aim for the underneath of the Beehaus they come and go through the entrance as they should - maybe those that aim for the mesh are new foragers a bit confused of the way in - they must be able to smell their queen from down there.

 

It's not something simple like a gap in the foam sealing strip where the ends join the sides is it? The design has changed a little and they are no longer there in mine, just a thought.

[beesontoast]

I bought a purple Beehaus

 

There's your problem - should have bought the orange one!

 

I had a good look at a Beehaus that a friend had been given by a PR in the hope that it would appear in a certain TV show (which I obviously cannot name, even though it will not be appearing), and one thing I noticed was the flimsy plastic divider, made from Correx (the stuff estate agents' signs are made from), which has a very short life in the open ait due to its rapid deterioration in UV light (a.k.a. sunlight). I wondered at the time how long it would last inside a hive before bees found a way over, under or through it.

[Guest]

beesontoast ,

 

I cannot speak for your local estate agents, but the material is MUCH more robust than the estate agent signs I have seen! About two and a half times thicker with the accompanying increase in strength and rigidity.

 

It is about 8mm thick and may even be UV protected (won't make a lot of difference inside a hive, anyway).

 

Furthermore, that type of divider (and dummy) has now been superceded. The new one may not be better, but superceded nonetheless.

 

The problem, if there is one, is not from that reason at all.

 

Regards, RAB

[thedruggist]

Hi

 

Hope the images show what I intended....

 

 

Tony

[thedruggist]

Hmmmmm obviously a technical hitch here

 

I clicked the img tab, put in the flikr address and ....... zero! Any clues?

 

The Flikr account is at http://www.flikr.com/photos/jodeller

 

Tony

[Snowy]

If you right click on the image in flickr, then click on 'view image info', you will get a window containing a highlighted http link. Copy and paste it into your post, like so:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/4844938724_b2e6cf9594.jpg

Then highlight the link and click on Img which places image tags either side of it, like this:

I've put asterisks in this to demonstrate, but remove the asterisks and you get your image:

Hope that helps!