Need to know

doak · June 17, 2007, 11:19:41 PM

Among the beekeeping books I have, one is "Beekeeping, A Complete Owners Manual"
On the front cover it shows Hives placed close together, more or less touching.
My question is, what is the purpose of this and are they awkward to work with?

I think someone on this forum has their's like that but I can't remember who.
doak

Brian D. Bray · June 17, 2007, 11:40:18 PM

Maybe the pic doesn't show the pallot they're sitting on? Really though, I've met beekeepers who believed it was prudent to put all their hives side by side and then worked them all from the back. I've always found that to be very awkward. If you want to work the bees from the back build your bottom boards turned 90 degrees so the entrance is on one of the long sides.

Kathyp · June 17, 2007, 11:43:31 PM

mine are all together and now that i have more, they are almost touching. i work them from the back. bees shoot out the front away from me. if they get out of hand, i can just walk away and they don't follow out the back :-). they also disappear as soon as i put the tops back on. that's kind of nice.

doak · June 18, 2007, 12:03:18 AM

I just find it easier to do the lifting from the sides. That way I don't have to worry about the entrance holes, if I have any in upper supers. and I do have some there.
I guess its what ever the operator likes best.
Thanks Y'all.
doak

rdy-b · June 18, 2007, 12:19:35 AM

I had some not so close but in a long row all facing the same way.the colonys on the ends got all the drift and did the best so thats where i placed my cut comb boxes .worked like a charm. I have since changed my configuration. and my boxes remain equal I like that better. only good thing i think would be easy to swap colony placment for build up. not good for the flow. RDY-B

doak · June 18, 2007, 12:42:18 AM

Well I place mine in a pattern kinda like the trees grow in the forest. No set patteren and most faceing generally the same way, with a few degrees difference. I have never had any problem with drifting.
I did move 3 last year and brought them back in a week. One went back in it's original place and the other two got switched. So the feild bees just switched places and was settled down within 2 days.
I like to work mine from the side so I guess I'll stick to what suits me. Y'all do to. ;)
Thanks
doak

Kirk-o · June 18, 2007, 01:02:14 AM

I like working from the sides but I think from the back is better
kirko

MrILoveTheAnts · June 18, 2007, 01:12:39 AM

The closer the hives are the more likely a worker bee will mistake one hive for another. A guard bee happily lets in any worker with legs full of pollen. Having hives that close can assist in spreading disease and mites. I'm told if you paint a symbol above the entrance of each one, something the bee could remember, it helps control this.

Michael Bush · June 18, 2007, 07:46:02 AM

It's nice to be able to work them from the back, but I find it easier to get a level stand to put them on if I put them up against each other. Also they winter well up against each other so I've gone to a stand that allows me to put them against each other side to side and slide them back against each other in the back for the winter.

Pictures here:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm