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The beehive of the future

CAPSLOCKSTUCK

CAPSLOCKSTUCK

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We probably all heard about the dilemma in the bee world, disease and such and how crucial they are to food production. Anything that makes bee-keeping more accessible to people is a very good thing.



 
Great find CAPSLOCKSTUCK!

After visiting Kew last summer bee keeping is something I'm considering. Not sure the poor things would survive the constant poor weather and lack of greenery around these parts though.

Installed at Kew Gardens in 2016, the Hive is a unique, multi-sensory experience designed to highlight the extraordinary life of bees. The Hive is a feat of British engineering standing some 17m square and set in a wildflower meadow where you can explore and consider the complex relationship between plants and their pollinators.

http://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/attractions/the-hive

kew-hive.jpg
 
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My kids have built a hive from a 50 gallon plastic drum and bought some Gerantium oil. If we dont attract a queen again this year i may have to buy one.

We had 6 beehives in our garden when i was a kid and i used to help a guy who supplied speciality honey to Harrods. The hives belonged to him and we would get a share each year. Every Sunday we would tend to hives he kept up on the moorland and on various farms in Mid Wales.
 
CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:
My kids have built a hive from a 50 gallon plastic drum and bought some Gerantium oil. If we dont attract a queen again this year i may have to buy one.

We had 6 beehives in our garden when i was a kid and i used to help a guy who supplied speciality honey to Harrods. The hives belonged to him and we would get a share each year. Every Sunday we would tend to hives he kept up on the moorland and on various farms in Mid Wales.
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Thanks CAPSLOCKSTUCK. All advice is welcome.

There's a scheme called 'Adopt a Beehive – North West' I'm going to get some more advice from them and see if our surroundings are suitable.
:toast:
 
It is a really interesting hobby and you dont need a lot of space. We have a very big garden and out of convenience (as opposed to the danger of being stung) ours is right down the bottom, it looks similar to this and cost nothing to build. I found the barrel on the foreshore a few years ago, i watched it go up and down the estuary a few times with the tide then grabbed it when it finally washed up..



FPXXNCKGM0CO55F.MEDIUM.jpg
 
These beehives are terrible for bees. They are literally designed with selfish human intentions in mind (i.e. I want the honey as easily and carefree as possible).

The bee's wax hives help remove toxins from the honey. It's also of a very specific thickness and density and allows bees to communicate between wall. These largely replace that with bland generic plastic that does no such thing. It's also susceptible to a lot more clogging than a traditional hive. It's still just as invasive since you still need to open up the frame to inspect the honey and see if it's ripe. It also costs about five time the amount of your generic beehive. Also bees kinda need some honey to survive the winter. If you're rinsing their stocks every weekend to put some on your toast you're gonna kill your hive.

To clarify, this is a convenient honey extractor, not a hive.
 
A lot of beekeepers buy in preformed honeycomb of all sizes and densities. All hives are fed with glucose through the winter months to make up for the honey that is removed.

This system appears to work especially if the colony has survived a number of years............if bees arent happy they just fly away.
 
The flow hive is good for a hobbyist beekeeper with maybe 1 or 2 hives and if your hives are in an area where honey flow lasts a long time. If I were to use that on my hives back home in the Philippines, it would only be for 1 or 2 months (well maybe 3 months if the conditions are really good) then I'd have to remove it and use a top feeder or regular 10 frame box so I can use an inner feeder. Another thing is it's expensive. I can buy 1 or 2 radial extractors for the price of 1 flow hive. It looks good though. :)
 
Could someone point a good source of quality prebuilt hives.

I've had the thought in my mind that I may want to try this as a hobby. I need to do research and figure cost. I like honey but its more for helping the bee collapse issue.
 
Your local beekeepers club is probably the best source of information and help, especially with sourcing a queen. Mated queens start at about £35/ $50 and they arrive by mail often with a few workers. A colony is more like £ 250

There are plenty of plans on the web on how to make hives.
 
i do this whithout the possibility to collect honey(nesting aid)
http://www.bienenhotel.de/html/beispiele.html
sometimes you get them cheap in the supermarket or do it yourself or with your children.

thanks very much caps for starting this-this is serious and we can do a bit ourselfs and not let the politicians decide about our childrens future
 
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Bees have been suffering for at least a decade, they are facing an all out assault right now and we are on the verge of catastrophe. TruStory.

Plant more vegetation that attracts bees and eliminate pesticides.

Pimping bees for our own benefit, righteous! :rolleyes:
 
m1dg3t said:
Pimping bees for our own benefit, righteous! :rolleyes:
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Man has pimped bees since he started craving sugar. Theres an interesting film somewhere about natives tying a feather to a worker bee then following it back to the hive, a pretty ancient technique i reckon.

Modern agriculture faces a real dilemma through the shortage of healthy bees.
 
CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:
Man has pimped bees since he started craving sugar. Theres an interesting film somewhere about natives tying a feather to a worker bee then following it back to the hive, a pretty ancient technique i reckon.

Modern agriculture faces a real dilemma through the shortage of healthy bees.
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I'm well aware of that fact, just pointing out that what people are suggesting isn't altruistic in any way, shape or form. What ever makes you feel warm n' fuzzy and helps you sleep at night.

FYI: My paternal grandfather owned/ran an apiary on Hawaii big island for 20 - 30 years.
 
I remember this was the coolest thing when I saw it a while back. It's surreal.

Around the house we have a few bees, but mostly lots of butterflies.
 
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