color of hives

Mklangelo · January 07, 2007, 08:05:09 PM

I have painted my hives a very light grey. Wisconsin winters can be very harsh and the summers can be very hot and humid. A very brutal combination for wood, especially for a soft wood like Pine which will contract and expand alot with these extreme variations.

Instead of using different colors for the bodies, I have made stencils of a Triangle, Rectangle, Circle, Square and a Wavy Line. These I spray paint just above the hive entrance in black paint, each hive a different shape and no two hives with the same shapes near each other. Much easier to me than using color combinations and diagonals.

Since I painted buildings for almost 30 years, I can't help protecting my invesement. I use acrylic primer and three coats of semi-gloss paint on the exposed parts and two finish coats on the stacked edges. For me it cost $143.00 U.S. per hive. These are unassembled parts from Dadant. Commercial quality Two Deeps and Two Mediums with frames, foundations, Queen Excluder, Bottom Board, Inner Cover and Outer Telescoping Cover. I also water proof the top of the Masonite inner cover and the inner surface of the Bottom Board.

I did some figuring and it will cost me about $2.00 U.S. per hive for the materials and about 2 hours labor per hive complete for the painting and waterproofing. In the long run, I think this will pay for itself.

;) ;)

Mklangelo · January 07, 2007, 10:29:52 PM

Quote from: Cindi on January 04, 2007, 09:54:04 AM
I am a bit of a clean freak. White. All my hives are white, it means to me pureness. I don't think there is anything more beautiful in this world than white, anything. I love colours though, don't get me wrong. Besides, I can see EVERYTHING with white hives. They stand out, in twilight and dawn, and even on a beautiful moonlit night. White reflects light, keeps the hives cooler than a dark colour, like Finsky says. Cool hives, keep the colours light. Period.

With white hives, I can see very clearly from a distance if there is a problem with too much heat, swarms emerging and so on, it allows to see what is going on around the colonies. Bees are dark and show up clearly against white background. White I shall stick with. If I wanted a little bit of colour just to spice things up, I would still leave the brood chambers white, the honey supers a different colour. My opinion and preference.

I like to paint a little picture on each colony's box, usually just a circle or square, in a different colour, just for fun, and maybe it helps the bees to orient to their own hive more easily, maybe, it probably makes for a better "target" for them when they come home weary and heavy from some hard work. LOL.

Have a great day, enjoy 2007. Cindi

Cindi I like your thoughts on this. Very nice.

ps> I'm new around here and am starting my first colonies this spring.

TwT · January 08, 2007, 02:15:35 AM

the main rule in hive colors, if you live where its hot paint in light colors, if you live where its cold paint in dark colors!!!!! the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finsky · January 08, 2007, 03:21:57 AM

Quote from: TwT on January 08, 2007, 02:15:35 AM
the main rule in hive colors, if you live where its hot paint in light colors, if you live where its cold paint in dark colors!!!!! the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why dont you use "warm colors". Warm colors are right in circle and "cold colors" on left.
By the way, when I nurse flowers, I love warm color palet.

TwT · January 08, 2007, 03:33:31 AM

good pic finsky, but whats the difference, you saying it like I did I think,......

Finsky · January 08, 2007, 04:11:03 AM

Quote from: TwT on January 08, 2007, 03:33:31 AM
but whats the difference, you saying it like I did I think,......

I was not sure what you said, Herr Professor. You have not serious imago, you know :)

TwT · January 08, 2007, 04:29:03 AM

you got it Bro, write colors are for hot weather and left colors are for cold weather. good graft!!!!!!

Finsky · January 08, 2007, 07:10:02 AM

Quote from: TwT on January 08, 2007, 04:29:03 AM
you got it Bro, write colors are for hot weather and left colors are for cold weather. good graft!!!!!!

TWT, is almost mornig, you better to stop drinking and go to bed like other decent citizens.

Cindi · January 08, 2007, 09:47:24 AM

Oh brother, quit squabbling. Isn't the light colours good for all, if you really get down to it.

If you really want to get technical. Paint the hives dark for the cold months, paint them LIGHT for the hot months. All areas where bees are kept do get the "hot" sunny months, that has to be a given.

Anyways, painting between dark and white is supposed to be a joke. Why not leave them light all the time and then wrap with dark paper to keep heat in in the cold winter?

I actually don't understand the principle around wrapping the hives to keep it warmer. I get the impression that bees can live very comfortably in low low minus degrees and be just fine. It is not the hive that they are warming, it is the cluster. Besides, don't they just plain and simply consume less food when they are in a tigher cluster, that in my mind would be good because then there is less chance of starving. If one has the sugar board like Robo uses, then they always have access to food, so they don't ever have to break cluster if they need nourishment, nor would have to move their cluster very far to get at this food. Just some thoughts here, I'll await some comments that could offer some further insight or correction. Great day. Cindi

Finsky · January 08, 2007, 10:15:44 AM

Quote from: Cindi on January 08, 2007, 09:47:24 AM

I actually don't understand the principle around wrapping the hives to keep it warmer. I get the impression that bees can live very comfortably in low low minus degrees and be just fine.

I think that long, long ago there was anything else than black tar paper to protect hives.

I use white geotextile in winter against snow and wind. Back side is open that hive gets freash air. Result is good.
Black atempt bees oo early out and that is no advantage.

Black warm tarpaper and open mesh floor. Works fine at night. Our sun does not heat during 4 moths.

http://www.wallbarn.com/images/geotextile-pic1.jpg

Cindi · January 08, 2007, 10:53:02 AM

Finsky, I looked at the site of white geotextile. It appears that this is also used to warm the soil beneath a soil layer or something like that. Interesting concept. Great day. Cindi

Finsky · January 08, 2007, 11:04:40 AM

Quote from: Cindi on January 08, 2007, 10:53:02 AM
Finsky, I looked at the site of white geotextile. It appears that this is also used to ... something like that. Interesting concept. Great day. Cindi

It is used between two material layers that they do not mix together under weight. It is also said filtration textile. If it is needed to protect agaist heat conduction or frost, styrofoam plate is used. http://www.rakentaja.fi/Kuvat/Soklex/RR2004/Routaeriste-paikalleen.jpg

Cindi · January 08, 2007, 11:08:12 AM

OK, good to know, may implement it for some uses around here in the outside. Great day. Cindi

BEE C · January 16, 2007, 10:47:29 PM

Mine are white or pale yellow with blue stencils over the entrance. Left over housepaint. They still got hot in the summer and benefitted from a double screen cut into an inner cover, with no outer cover used.

This hive houses australian stock.

pdmattox · January 16, 2007, 10:51:12 PM

BEE C , nice pic's

Cindi · January 16, 2007, 11:51:07 PM

BEE C, you have an interesting set up over there. One day, I gotta come over and see it. Talk to ya. Great day. Cindi

LET-CA · March 08, 2007, 07:08:39 PM

Most of mine are white, but I decided to get fancy with one and painted it in some earth-tones. It will have a fair amount of afternoon shade so I'm not worried about the Sacramento heat. I'll post a photo once my posting rights are upgraded.

pttom · March 08, 2007, 07:34:40 PM

All of my hive bodies and supers are white. I paint the tops and the bottoms what ever colors I can get from Lowe's that are mixed wrong . I pay 4 to 5 dollars a gallon. I have about 15 colors now.

sandhya · May 01, 2007, 11:10:24 PM

beige, but my husband has a theory about painting the inside of the telescoping cover...he says the composition board they use off gasses fermaldihide, so he told me I should paint the inside of the lid to keep the bees from beeing gased.

tillie · May 02, 2007, 12:19:15 AM

When I painted my sunporch, I had a difficult time deciding on a paint color - sunporches are strange that way in that in the morning it looked one way and by sunset when the sun streams into the room, the color looks entirely different. So in trying to decide I went through about 8 different quarts of paint -

So my hives are painted from those quarts - yellows, peach colors, warm rosy beiges - when I run through all of that, I'll buy from the OOPS cart at Home Depot.

Linda T in Atlanta