Observation Hive

[sholcomb]

The University in St. Joseph, Misouri and the Missouri Department of Conservation Regional Office here have both approached me about putting in Observation Hives.  I know I have to have them big enought to be strong hives, possably 4 frames tall and 3 - 4 wide since we have cold, freezing, snowy winters.  Other than that I do not know where to get plans for them.

The MDC and the University have some questions that I hope some of you with a history of Observation Hives (Michael Bush) might be able to answer:

                             Of other places where they have these hives, has bee stings gone up, stayed the same, or gone down?
                             How far can a bee typically travel?
                             What is their home range (on the low side)? 
                             How often will the hive need to be opened or maintained?
                             Will it be a burden to kids eating within 25 feet of the opening to the outside?

They want me to start on this as soon as they give the approval and the answers here will be a big help in getting the powers to be on our side.

Thanks in advance for all of your assistance.

Shannon Holcomb

[tandemrx]

I guess I wonder if you really want an observation hive that is 4 frames high and 3-4 wide.  In some ways it defeats the purpose, you will see bees, but brood and the queen will likely sequester in the middle and never be seen.  Also the weight of such a hive would make maintenance a nightmare (probably near on impossible.

Also, I am presuming this would be an indoor hive, so not sure why you would need it to be so strong due to winters.  The bees will be inside where it is warm.  If by chance you lose your hive over winter (as a good proportion of people do, due to what is now considered average losses), you can restock in the spring.

Have you considered something as simple as getting a premade observation hive such as a draper observation hive (http://www.draperbee.com/catalog/page7.htm#2%20Frame)?  Seems like they will even make bigger than their standard 3 deep 1 narrow frame hive if you want - although even that standard hive is so heavy that moving it for maintenance is an issue (2-person job).

I have a draper hive much further north than you and it is doing quite well this winter (although mild so far, but again, cold isn't an issue for the hive itself).

As for the University questions, I can't answer all since mine is not in a public place, but so far I have had mine for one season and only opened it to install the bees - very little comb on the glass so other than the notion that I might like to replace a frame this spring I don't see doing any further maintenance and may not even replace a frame.  I could see doing maintenance no more frequently than once a year unless something goofy happened or I needed to restock the bees (if I just needed a queen I might consider putting her in the entrance rather than moving and opening the hive).

My wife and I often sit on our deck which is about 10 feet below the entrance and the bees don't come anywhere near us.

I cannot see how they would be a burden to kids eating 25 feet away - just as with any other hive.

Only thing to consider is what happens when the hive swarms as there will be a standard tornado of bees outside the entrance - THAT will get some people excited   :shock:  :shock: (not knowing they could stand in the middle of the tornado and not likely get stung).  It is likely to have swarms because of the small nature of most observation hives - they fill up very fast (my first year observation hive swarmed twice).

Also, you can consider diverting the entrance once outside the building such that it isn't in a bad place.  Or put a diverting hedge or other diversion near the exit.  Since I keep our hive on our second floor and it exits over the roof, the bees tend to stick to that height and never really come around people level in my back yard.  You could also use PVC pipe to divert from a first floor spot to say 10 feet in the air or somewhere where it would be distant from the public (but still visible).  Probably don't want too long a pipe . . . length has been addressed on some other thread on this forum, but I know some people have gone quite a ways.  Mine is only about 5 feet of travel from the hive to outside entrance.

Nice thing about the draper hive is that it rotates so you can easily observe both sides if the hive is placed near a wall and it has 2 closure valves so that when you want to do maintenance you would have minimal bee exit into the room itself (couple bees maybe).




Good luck, it is one of the funnest things I have done with bees

[Michael Bush]

>The University in St. Joseph, Misouri and the Missouri Department of Conservation Regional Office here have both approached me about putting in Observation Hives.  I know I have to have them big enought to be strong hives, possably 4 frames tall and 3 - 4 wide since we have cold, freezing, snowy winters.  Other than that I do not know where to get plans for them.

A single comb allows you to always see the queen and always see eggs and brood.  A 4 wide you will seldom see the queen and maybe never see eggs or brood.  I would go with four frames high and one wide.  It is pretty much impossible to maintain an observation hive without a "support" hive.  When the observation hive gets too strong you can pull some brood out and give it to the support hive.  When the observation hive gets too weak you can pull some brood from the support hive and boost the observation hive.

>Of other places where they have these hives, has bee stings gone up, stayed the same, or gone down?

No one at my house gets stung by bees except me (the beekeeper) and I've had hives in the back yard for the last 37 years while raising five kids and several grandkids and I extract in the kitchen.  I think one of the grandkids stepped barefoot on a bee once and one of my sons stepped on one a couple of times growing up.  That was the extent.  I used to step on them regularly as a kid and we had no hives.  I have not heard of anyone being stung anywhere that an observation hive is kept.  That doesn't mean they haven't but I have never heard of it.

>How far can a bee typically travel?

They will forage a radius of 1 1/2 miles very heavily.  2 miles somewhat.  Beyond that is rare, but they will go further if there is no forage.

>What is their home range (on the low side)?

1 1/2 miles.

>How often will the hive need to be opened or maintained?

I would say I have to mess with mine about three times a year or so.  It depends on how successful it is.  If it booms the whole time you may have to pull some frames of brood out more often than that.  I just take it outside, do what I need, close it up, brush it off, move it, brush it off, move it, brush it off and take it  inside.

>Will it be a burden to kids eating within 25 feet of the opening to the outside?

Make the entrance six feet off the ground and it's doubtful they will ever bother anyone.  It's hard to make guarantees, but here is my prediction:  the yellow jackets in the area will bother the kids eating outside and the bees will get blamed.  It is SLIGHTLY possible in a really be dearth if the kids have very sweet  drinks that the bees may show an interest.  But I have never had that problem.