BBKA Forum

Painted some Mini Mating Hives

They look great Japey

Cheers Chris. Not sure if I'll be using all of these this season, although I do like to have some fun

This is just practice for painting my white Abelo Poly hives.

I left mine outside the local primary school for a few minutes .
So much cheaper and easier than doing it myself.

MickBBKA wrote: ↑

11 Feb 2020, 16:33

Patrick wrote: ↑

11 Feb 2020, 16:09

Bees really really don’t need a normal full width entrance and will struggle to defend it. So don’t oblige them to have one. Simples.

I am making some modified floors so I can install and remove varroa boards from the front under the entrance.

Why at the front Mick?
The front of my hives is more Helmand Province than Lake District..

I've just made a plywood Langstroth nuc as someone wants some bees from me on those frames. I must say that they are much easier to make than National nucs.
I have also made some Langstroth frames up - they don't have the slot down the side bars for the foundation to slide down into, so the first time I used them I wondered if the bees would leave a gap between the foundation and the wooden sides. However they don't and the foundation is soon waxed in place.

When the weather is suitable, I will have to get bees up and onto the new frames using a Bailey comb exchange technique.

[/quote]
Why at the front Mick?
The front of my hives is more Helmand Province than Lake District..
[/quote]

because many of my hives on the farms are set against dry stone walls or fences and I can't access from the back. I also arrange my frames the so called ' cold way ' so I can inspect from the side.

I see now.

Incidentally,I was given the impression that with the advent of O M Fs the cold/warm way thing was no longer of much relevance.
Also there's the current trend of small entrances and the bling of pest control devices which restrict gale force gusts a little more.
So is frame orientation still a thing for those other than yourself with an actual need for it?

From the beginning I set my hives up coldway just by chance without actually considering it any further.
I'm glad I chose that config -I can work both sides of the frames without being punished for standing at the entrance.

Just like top space vs bottom space, frame orientation used to evoke strong emotions amongst some beekeepers, with the usual mix of reasonings.

I have my frames on either way for the safest and easiest hive inspections in the particular place they are located.

Twisting yourself through 90 degrees to inspect frames is mighty inconvenient and means your arms are moving about over the frames more than necessary. With one hive it is just about manageable but several would do my nut.

made up about 100 frames this last week, run out of foundation, will be going to Simon the bee keeper website to order more, plans to paint some poly nuc brood extensions tomorrow.