My New Observation Hive!

[D Coates]

I finally installed a nuc in my observation hive that I had been working on since November. They've been in there a week so far and are doing well. Keep in mind that there are 75+ employees here who walk nearby this entrance so I can't afford to have anyone stung so I put the entrance 12 foot above their heads. Any hint of swarming activity and this hive will be split.

The hive itself was bought from Orr Bee supply. I changed a couple measurements that were off, then added glass, Plexiglas, upper vents, beefed up the door hinges, added lift handles, widened the entrance, made the entire quick disconnect hinge system, set up the entrance/exit through cinder block, and had it painted to look like just another vent pipe. Overall it was a challenging exercise, and I do not consider myself a very good wood worker. So far it has been doing well with no problems. I'm hoping to take the front cover off permanently but I am proceeding cautiously at this point to see how they act.  I've already seen the queen laying 3 different times.  I'd never seen a queen laying during any of my numerous inspections.

http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa190/Drew454/Observation%20Hive/

[danno]

is your enterance made of PVC?   What size? 

[D Coates]

2 inch PVC

[hardwood]

Very cool D! It looks as if the entry pipe goes outside then takes a turn up the wall am I right? It might be wise to install a "T" instead of the elbow with a cap  pointing down in case it ever becomes clogged. Other than that (which is probably a trivial concern anyway) it looks great. Now I'm jealous!

Scott

[AllenF]

Great set up.   By the way, it the a mule or a whitetail hanging on the wall?

[jhs494]

Very nice. This is on my to do list. I really like the design and it looks fantastic in your room. Great Job!
Thanks for sharing this with us.

[riverrat]

very nice when you said nuc i thought wow overcrowded then I seen the size of the ob hive  :)

[D Coates]

Great set up.   By the way, it the a mule or a whitetail hanging on the wall?

Whitetail, I got it last year.  After 30+ years of consistant deer hunting (bow & rifle) I understand it may the biggest buck I'm fortunate enough to harvest.  Hopefully I've got another 30-40 years of trying though.

[D Coates]

Ironically Hardwood, that's exactly what I've got.  I've even got a drainage "T" that's directional.  It's facing upward.  There's about 2 foot worth of pipe below where the hive entrance/exit enters the pipe.  I assumed the hive would drop the dead down that portion of the pipe instead of trying to carry them out.  The problem I discovered yesterday is that 2 foot section is filling up with bees who are then suffocating and dying.  I'd say I've unfortunately lost about a frames worth of bees. :(  By the way, that amount of dead bees in a PVC pipe for a week, stinks...

I am going to cut the pipe open to see what's happening from above.  I may need to add another entrance into the PVC, make it easier for them to climb in and out (add a 1/2 rope or strap down the middle of the pipe) or limit the amount of bees that can enter via a reversed trap out cone to limit congestion at the hive bottleneck (flexible hose).

[D Coates]

To update.  If you have a 100% vertical PVC pipe as an exit/entrance.  You need to scuff up the interior of the pipe as the bees can have difficulty climbing out.  If you have a bottom "clean out" like the one shown in the photos the bees will fall down into it and can't seem to climb out.  The will suffocate from the other who fall and eventually you got a mass of stinky dead bees that will eventually clog up the exit/entrance. 

All that was done to aleviate this problem for me (becuase I couldn't easily scuff up the interior of the pipe) was to get a 1 inch fabric strap. Attach it perpendicularly to a 1/4 inch square dowel that 4 inches long.  Drop the strap down the pipe all the way to the bottom and cut it off with about 1/2 an inch hanging out.  Screw the cap back on.  The dowel fits in the "T" nicely, holds the strap in place via gravity and doesn't clog the entrance/exit.  What you've done is created a ladder for any bees that have fallen to the bottom.  It has worked like a charm to fix this problem I encountered.

[vermmy35]

That is a great set-up, very cool.