How do you run your hives?

[illuminateddan]

Hi folks,

Hi, my name is Dan Cook and I'm a hobby beekeeper and mature-age (old!) design student. I'm currently researching beekeeping and how todays modern beekeeping practices effect the beekeeper and the bees for my Honours project. I'm not looking to design the next flow hive or anything like that, just get an understanding of peoples practices and problems.

It would be fantastic if you could spare three or four minutes to let me know a few details about you practice. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on: [email protected]

The questionnaire is here if you would like to help out https://goo.gl/forms/O3c1eb7eWp6FyK6y2

Thank you so much for your time in advance , and if this is not the right place to post this I apologise and will place it properly elsewhere if you could point me in the right direction!

Dan

PS. Keep up the amazing work! 

[BeeMaster2]

Welcome to Beemaster.
I answered your survey. It only took a few seconds.
Jim

[mikecva]

I also responded.   Good lock.

[Acebird]

I did it from the other site.

[heidi.k.cummins]

Done.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Joe D]

Filled out the questionnaire, may have added more than you wanted.

Hope it helps,

Joe D

[paus]

If you are allowed to post your results, I would like to see them.  This is a most intriguing thing you have started. Thanks

[loner]

Tried to answer but most answer spaces are missing.

[illuminateddan]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for your responses! Across 4 forums we managed to get 51 responses. As I keen to contribute to the community and believe in sharing, the data collected is below! To summarise the results, the majority of active forum users / responders were from various states in the USA with 94% using langstroth type hives. of the participants the majority ran 10 frames per super with 50% using plastic foundation, 15.7% using wax and 12% using no foundation at all.  Of the participants almost 90% ran under 30 hives, with 11% running 31-100 hives. Over one third of beekeepers modified their hives in some way (not including just paint) and over 40% believed the hives they used to have a positive effect on the bee colony. The top priorities in hive design were for lifting cleats, inspection ease and pest management. Most beekeepers (on the forum so a loaded technology question!!) learnt beekeeping from forums, youtube and books. There were a wide variety of styles of beekeeping from treatment free to commercial and 'leave them alone' to 'bees know what they're doing-leave them to do it!'. Extinction of varroa was a key response in the wish list question with a expense and better resources being other common answers. I particularly liked the 'better research' answer! 

American (and Canadian) beekeepers are a safe bunch with only 6% having had a injury, usually connected to the back or shoulders. Apiarists seem to be an older group with 68% being over 50, with only 2% being under 25. The group was 78% male, however this could also be an indication of forum participants rather than beekeeping in general...

Here's the hard data for those interested.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1TAMj026FvUfqVqHShkc4Nki6InwpCmwPe9e-JEzChcY/edit#responses

Just as a little FYI for those that expressed an interest, I run 4 langstroths (10 frame), 1 top bar and 2 warre hives. I am mainly ligustica but also have a lovely colony of caucasians.

Again, thank you so much for your answers and I hope you found the results interesting.

Have a great day,

Dan

[Jim134]

     Dan Cook

  I do hope you the best in all your endeavors. Something you may not realize 95% of all the hives in the USA. Are owned by only 5% of the beekeepers. These include operations such as raising bees, honey production and pollination.. I know the European market is much more Diversified.


              BEE HAPPY Jim 134 

[illuminateddan]

Thanks Jim, I did not realise that! I seem to have mainly found smaller apiary owner/operators, but the information is very interesting. It does seem that most of the bee forums are USA orientated too!

[tycrnp]

I tried to respond too late, but I looked at your results...interesting.

[little john]

What happens now ... how will this information be used ?
LJ

[illuminateddan]

Hi,

So after a fairly brisk debate on the merits and failures of my survey on various forums, I thought I'd share a little more information just for completeness sake:

To clarify, this survey was just a very small part of my other research which is on the 'thermal impacts of hive manipulation'.

While this sounds like 'mumbo jumbo' it's really just documenting and measuring what I and all the participants here know already - that opening a hive releases the environment within and changes the temperature and humidity. What I am trying to document is the empirical figures: how much does it change, how long does it take the bees to recover, what happens to the hive temperature and humidity after a manipulation and how do the bees restore the 'microenvironment'. I am also looking at the role that brood comb and honey comb play in hive temperature stabilisation (which is a lot due to the thermal mass of the honey comb when full).

Unfortunately, as you probably already know, in academic papers, theses, essays and such, first hand knowledge must be supported by empirical evidence, hence the survey. I know that langstroth hives are a base standard with a gazillion variations, that I get a sore lower back from lifting a 35kg super that's too near the ground and that I run a 10 frame super because thats what I started with and what my local store sells, but I need to be able to say 'x out of x beekeepers' do this. Even knowing that out of 'x' many views on 'x' many forums, I got 'x' responses is very useful in (in)validating the data.

I have however learnt that in beekeeping forums, a survey is not a valid collection method to get an accurate cross section as the form of the questions will be judged for worthiness and the questioners reputation on the board changes the number and type of people answering - surprisingly valid information from which I shall get paragraphs of recommendations from!

Anyway, having alienated various beekeepers on various forums through this survey I'd like to say thanks to all that responded. Further to this, I'd now kind of like to move on if possible and become involved and learn from this community. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Dan

[Acebird]

If you filter the responses to what you are looking for a survey is very useful.

[illuminateddan]

Hi Brian,
I think the issue with the survey is determining the sub-demographic of the beekeepers completing it - commercial V small commercial V hobby. The problem with asking questions is that you get the answers you are looking for(!) - if that makes sense. What I will look at next time is getting a sense of the type of beekeeper rather than just sort by the number of hives they have.

This forum has been very supportive of this survey, however there has been some 'robust discussion' in other forums! 

I think I need to aim the survey to types of beekeeper to get more relevant answers, but it has been a learning experience to say the least!

D

[Acebird]

This forum has been very supportive of this survey, however there has been some 'robust discussion' in other forums! 

Hi Dan
This forum is far more tolerant of other peoples views.

[BeeMaster2]

Ditto.

[Fusion_power]

One can learn a lot by studying the hive designs used in other regions.  I wouldn't expect to see a moveable frame hive used by a dirt poor farmer in Tanzania any more than I would expect a commercial beekeeper in the U.S. to use a Perrone hive.  Hive types break down into 4 basic types: Fixed comb, Horizontal Topbar, Moveable Frame, and Vertically Stacked.  There are innumerable variations used in various regions with many that fit in more than one group.  If you want to study each type, a good list is Skep (Fixed Comb), Kenya Topbar (Horizontal Topbar), Layens (Horizontal Moveable Frame), Jackson Horizontal (Moveable Frame), Langstroth (Vertical Stacked Frame), Dadant (Vertical Stacked Frame), Rose (Vertical stacked Frame), Perrone (Fixed Comb, Cassette style supers), and Warre (either Topbar or Moveable Frame Vertically Stacked).  IMO, the common Langstroth hive used in many countries is a relatively poor design.  I used them for 40 years then switched to square Dadant beginning last year.

The bees do not care one whit what type hive they are in so long as it provides a cavity large enough for them to survive and reproduce.  The hive is based on the beekeeper and his management strategy.

[little john]

One can learn a lot by studying the hive designs used in other regions. 

Indeed.  There are two others not included in your list, both of which have unique features: one being the A-Z hive (of which the OP is already familiar) of Eastern Europe, in which frames are accessed from the rear of the hive, rather than from the top - as with all other hive designs ...

... except the German Bienenkiste hive (modelled on the Krainer-Bauernstock, the so-called 'farmer's hive' as used by Anton Janscha during the 18th Century), in which the combs run along the length of the hive (rather than unnaturally across the width, as with ALL other horizontal hives), with the hive being accessed from the bottom, rather than from the top.
LJ