Cool Experience With My Observation Hive

tshnc01 · August 23, 2010, 02:26:33 PM

I stocked my observation for the first time in July with a few frames of bees and a queen cell that was due to emerge within a day or two. I got to watch her hatch out, and then within a day watch the bees kill her. Not sure why they did that, but they promptly built 4 or 5 queen cells. Given the small number of bees, they did not have a lot of sucess in producing a queen so I decided to combine these bees with a small split I had made. I took the frames of bees from the OB hive and put them in a nuc right beside the entrance to the OB hive. Many of the bees that were on the comb went happily into the nuc box; however about 1/2 of the bees decided they liked the inside of the OB hive better. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to get a frame of uncapped brood from the split I had made. Seriously when I was about 3 or 4 feet away from the OB hive with the open brood, all of the bees started a roaring hum, and fanning their wings. I have never seen bees appear so "happy" in my life. Within about 5 minutes, 99% of the bees had occupied the frame and were happy to go into the nuc. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool.

Also, I would like to publicly thank Michael Bush for the presentation he did last year in MA on Observation Hives. I motivated me to build one when I returned home, and I am definitley learning a lot from having it.

...Tim

D Coates · August 24, 2010, 01:54:14 PM

I got one for Christmas that's in my office now. I've seen them do more things than I had prior. I can now tell when a flow is on, what grooming looks like, what a queen looks like when she's laying (looking for empty cells, measuring, reviewing, accepting, then laying, what bee's look like when they are drawing comb, who they do it, and these are just to name a few.

If you're a beekeeper I recommend getting an OB hive. You'll learn a whole lot.

super dave · August 24, 2010, 03:19:22 PM

do they swarm often--ive always wanted to make one but i figure that it would be a lot of work with them building up and worrying about the lack of space for them

buzzbee · August 25, 2010, 12:05:19 AM

My ob hive had the same queen for three years. It never really swarmed until the original colony dwindled away and a huge swarm moved in. In the early fall,this swarm that moved in swarmed and left to few bees behind to maintain the colony.

WVaBees · August 25, 2010, 01:24:02 AM

How do you winter an observation hive?

super dave · August 25, 2010, 08:45:23 AM

buzzbee you said"It never really swarmed until the original colony dwindled away and a huge swarm moved in"-- now is this typical,in a normal hive you have to put boxes on to give the space to prevent swarming--i jsut dont understand how they dont get to be such a large colony and want to swarm-- can you help me understand
thanks
dave

D Coates · August 25, 2010, 06:53:39 PM

Quote from: WVaBees on August 25, 2010, 01:24:02 AM
How do you winter an observation hive?

Make sure they have the appropriate stores and leave them alone where they are like you would any regular hive.

buzzbee · August 25, 2010, 09:46:34 PM

SuperDave,
They always seemed content with just about filling the ob hive.The original queen and package I installed just seemed to maintain without overly exploding.
However in the third year,they dwindled away to the point of either closing up the hive for the season or going to the bee yard to rob eggs and bees to start over. The next day or two,A large swarm gathered on the back of the house and moved into the OB hive. really cool ,I tell ya what.They were there until fall and decided to move on.
Now this year I never saw a swarm,and only had one call for one,so the ob HIVE IS SETTING EMPTY.I hope to catch one early in the spring next year or do a split from one of the other hives.
As far as overwintering,they did not need a ton of stores since they were considerably warmer in the house.And I would have been able to feed if necessary.Even being in the cozy house,activity was kept to a minimum to conserve.I am sure day length played into this..

WVaBees · August 26, 2010, 12:18:08 AM

Quote from: D Coates on August 25, 2010, 06:53:39 PM
Quote from: WVaBees on August 25, 2010, 01:24:02 AM
How do you winter an observation hive?

Make sure they have the appropriate stores and leave them alone where they are like you would any regular hive.

But won't they be too warm since the hive will be in the house where it is warm? Wouldn't that cause them to be more active and eat more? Just wondering because I am very interested in doing this next year.

buzzbee · August 26, 2010, 07:29:10 AM

Once it gets cold outside(the entrance pipe from outside is always open)the bees settle in with minimal activity.When you think about it,the bee cluster is always warm in the hive. There is more than the temp of the room where the OB hive is kept at play.When you get a calm day in winter with temps near 40 they will do a cleansing flight just as a regular hive.
This may play into the activity too. If they can not go for cleansing flights,it may limit activity in the hive.
And I do have the option to feed if necessary.

WVaBees · August 26, 2010, 11:08:36 PM

Very cool...happy that it works that way...I would love to get a setup in my house next year.

specialkayme · August 30, 2010, 12:04:56 PM

I would have loved to see Mr. Bush's presentation on OHs. That sounds amazing.

My OH is one of my most prized possessions. A great way to pass a few minutes in the morning before work, and a good way to calm down for a few minutes after work. Plus, it's one of the best conversation starters for people that come to visit. Whenever I move the panel so they can see the OH, I always get a *gasp*.

Mine don't always make it through the winter though. I don't always have a cluster large enough to make it. But I have learned that the more I stock into it, and the less I mess with it, the better they do.

tshnc01 · August 30, 2010, 06:46:33 PM

QuoteI would have loved to see Mr. Bush's presentation on OHs. That sounds amazing.

It was amazing....You can find the powerpoint for his talk on his website at the following link:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeshas.htm

...Tim

specialkayme · September 22, 2010, 12:36:41 PM

Thanks for the link Tim. Great information. I've only been able to thumb through it, and I'll make sure that I re-look at it much more closely.

Quick question though, did he go over how to feed pollen into an OH without taking it outside and opening it up? that's my biggest issue ATM. I just can't figure out how to configure it.

tshnc01 · September 22, 2010, 01:44:21 PM

Quotedid he go over how to feed pollen into an OH without taking it outside and opening it up? that's my biggest issue ATM. I just can't figure out how to configure it

I don't recall specifically....Sorry. On my hive, I have a couple of holes at the top of the hive covered with #5 hardware cloth. If I needed, I could drop some pollen into it (it would just land on top of one of the frames.

specialkayme · September 22, 2010, 02:52:31 PM

Yeah, I have those as well. Five 1.5" holes with screening over it. I don't know the size, but it was screen door material. It's hard to find anything smaller than 1/4" mesh around here, unless it's screen door material. At that, I can push and squeeze pollen through that mesh, but it ends up taking me 30 min to get a small amount through. Even at that, since mine is 3 deeps tall, it lands on the top bar of the top frame. the cluster is a frame and a half down, so in the spring or winter they never will get to it.

I've been toying with the idea of using 1/4" mesh at two points, middle of the hive, on the sides. That way I could push some in there if I need to and have it closer to the cluster (although not in a great position). Doing so would disrupt the structural integrity of the hive though, and make it weaker. I usually end up giving 4-6 talks a year with it though, so I would hate for it to break in transit though.

I have to figure something out though.

tshnc01 · September 22, 2010, 03:15:47 PM

Actually I meant #8 hardware cloth, and not #5 (which is good for queen excluders)....You can get #8 from Jack Tapp who carries the entire Brushy Mt. catalog. This should let the pollen fall through easily or be pushed in from the sides.

philinacoma · September 22, 2010, 08:26:40 PM

How do you work an observation hive if it's located inside the house, or don't you?

AllenF · September 22, 2010, 08:45:40 PM

A tube or a pipe to the outside.

specialkayme · September 22, 2010, 10:02:04 PM

Quote from: philinacoma on September 22, 2010, 08:26:40 PM
How do you work an observation hive if it's located inside the house, or don't you?

A tube out the window allows the bees to go in and out. In order for you to open it up and manipulate them requires you to move it outside, do what you need to, brush them off the outside of it, then move it back inside.