Setting the Hive Box on the Bee Tree

Here are the bees peeking up from the top of the exposed comb in the tree. The bees had already started using the opening as a top entrance. I am a little worried about putting the hive box over the hole because they are using it as a top entrance.


Here's the silicone caulk beaded around the hole to keep out ants and other critters.



I nailed the board to the tree top. Tony, a New Zealander working of Odd Job, took this picture.



So here's the plywood board all caulked and nailed to the tree top, just waiting for the box.

Bee Tree Hive Preparation for a Hive Box

I can't get over how much beekeeping adds to my construction challenges! I went to Home Depot and bought a 24" X 24" piece of plywood to put on the top of the tree. I don't own and didn't want to purchase a sawsall ($199) and I don't have a mandrill (?) or whatever adaptor you have to have to attach a large hole saw to a drill and a 4" hole saw was about $15 without whatever adaptor I would need to attach it to the drill.

The guy in Home Depot suggested that instead of buying something I didn't really need, that I take my drill with a large bit and make a connect the dots circle since it doesn't have to be pretty for the bees. So that's what I did (see below)



Then I had to get the piece out and this required using this thin saw that I have (I had to change the saw blade - first time in the 15 years I've owned the saw) to put the small ended saw blade on - I'm sure it has its own special name. Anyway it worked perfectly to cut the little bits of wood between the dots.

Note: Research tonight yields that this is a "compass saw" and here's how it is described:
"A handsaw with a narrow triangular blade for cutting circles and curves in wood. Compass saws have longer, coarser blades than keyhole saws. They are designed for slightly heavier work such as cutting holes in subflooring for plumbing or electrical wiring."

So even though I didn't know what it was, I actually used it for the purpose for which it is designed: cutting circles!


Only one piece of wood still joined the circle to the larger block.



It's done. Tomorrow I'll nail this board to the tree section top. Iddee on Beemaster also suggested that I run a bead of caulk around the hole to keep the bees from making an entrance below the plywood and to keep out intruders like ants and such. I do have caulk and a way to do that (a caulking gun) so I'm all equipped for my morning event.

I have the car loaded with an extra super, a baggie of 2:1 sugar syrup, the board with the center cut out, my hammer and nails, my caulking gun, my bee jacket and veil, my gloves. A box with frames is already over there. Oh, and I loaded the ladder I'll need to have any height to work on this.



More to come on the bee tree adventure.
Preview of coming attractions:

• Pictures of the installed hive box from tomorrow's installation;
• Information about bee gums;
• An inspection at Blue Heron on Saturday morning.....
  

Boy, there's a lot to beekeeping.

Hands On Opportunity at the Short Course

The Short Course offered many opportunites for hands on experience in bee stuff. Philippe Audibert hosted a honey tasting table with honey samples from all over Georgia, North Carolina and even from other parts of the world. This was a popular display.


Jerry Wallace demonstrated products of the hive. His table included pollen to taste as well as jars of propolis and his award winning h0ney. He also had his wax blocks to show.


Jason Steidel demonstrated what one might do with a hammer and nail in building bee equipment. He had a very helpful handout for the participants.


PN Williams set up shop at his table and sold bee equipment as well as took orders for nucs to be delivered in the spring.

How to Build a Hive Box

In 2006 when I got my first hives, I had no idea what to do. I hadn't ever seen anyone build a hive box. So for those of you who are starting this year and may be as intimidated as I was, here's a primer on how to build a hive box. Now, I'm a novice beekeeper so the experienced beekeepers are going to be much more expert than I am but I am posting this so that you won't be as alone in your efforts as I was the first year.

Note: Be sure to read the comments as more experienced beekeepers have already written some about what I have posted....and they are (probably not older) but certainly wiser than I am.

At this time of year, most new beekeepers are crossing their fingers and ordering their initial equipment. To have bees, if you are going to use Langstroth hives as most of us do, then most new beekeepers order hive boxes. These are wooden and come in pieces for you to put together. (Note: some boxes are Styrofoam and others can be ordered already assembled...for a price.)

Some of the catalog companies send nails with the hive boxes. I have a ton of left over nails, enough to fill a 9 inch cake pan. Since I am moving to all medium boxes, I am screwing my boxes together in order to be able to take them apart if something gets broken.

If it looks like I am doing this assembly in my living room, it's because I am. I like to put these things together in front of the TV. What's really boring is building frames - that I definitely do in front of the TV!


Step One in hive box construction:
Make sure the cut-in handle is facing the same direction on each box part. In this medium box from Brushy Mountain (I think - I've had it since last year) you can't put the box together wrong, but in some box sizes and from some companies, the notches are exactly the same either direction and it's possible to turn one side so that the handle is upside down. A comment (see below) also notes that it doesn't work if you have the handles on the inside of the box, so also make sure that you have the handles facing to the outside of the box!


Step Two: I use a rubber mallet to hammer the notches in place before I permanently attach them. These boxes fit quite tightly and need the mallet to fit together. The boxes I ordered from Dadant fit together with more ease.

At this point most people (see comments on this post) put glue in the joints. I haven't been doing that and will probably regret it, although since I screw my boxes together, I expect them to stay more securely than if I nailed them.


Step Three: Make sure you have the box notched together properly and the handles are all facing the same direction.


Step Four: Nail or screw the box together. My daddy taught me to lubricate the screw with soap. You can also use beeswax for this purpose. Whether you nail or screw, I go around and do one fastener (nail or screw) in each corner, rather than screwing all of them in at once on one side. I don't know if that is good construction or just what I do. It seems to make sense to put it together in a balanced way.

Then you are done and you paint the box. I used interior paint on all of my boxes and they've held up just fine, but ideally you will use exterior paint to help your box last longer. You only paint the outside of the box - not the inside and not the rail inside for hanging the frames - simply paint the outside four sides of the box.

I'll post another beginner help post in the next day or two...maybe how to build a frame with a word or two about foundation.

The Building and Construction of Beekeeping

Last night in preparation for a day in the hives, I did building and construction.

I built and painted the medium box below which I will add to my weak hive today. The weak hive isn't growing like gangbusters, but they have expanded and now are using about 7 of the frames in their box. I want to add another box to make it easier for the queen to expand upwards if she is so inclined.

I painted it Bermuda's peach beige color. Hammering together the box doesn't take long (I watched Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel while I did it.) Painting is more challenging because I have to keep the dogs from being curious.



















Then I put together 10 medium frames for this box. I have lots of shallow frames for honey supers but will be building lots of medium frames this year as I move to using medium boxes. You can see the six I already made when I had the idea to take a picture of putting one together. I usually set the whole thing up on a Rubbermaid footstool and then hammer the nails into the narrow bottom bar first.

















I'll bet all of you already know how to hammer a nail! You put two in each end of the frame.