This last week I received a call from a person who had honeybees in the back of his RV. I guess the bees just wanted some rest and relaxation. However, the RV owner did not want the bees! So, he called me and I went out to take a look.
He was astonished to see a lot of bees flying
The owner informed me that he had let his RV sit for over two years. He was just now getting ready to sell it. The owner had not noticed anything out of the ordinary when he was inside the RV, but when he went to the back to check on something…he was astonished to see a lot of bees flying in and out through a keyhole in a cubbyhole door. So, he gave me a call. When I got there, I went around back of the RV and opened the door to the cubbyhole. (I put on my bee suit first!) Sure enough, they had built a nest right inside the cupboard.
In this part of the Warre Hive Construction Guide we will look at the materials needed to build a Warre Hive. Warre hives are pretty simple to make. You only need five basic materials: wood, fasteners (like nails or screws), permeable cloth, insulating material and a finish to coat the assembled hive. Let’s take a look at the wood first.
Here are some tools that you can use to build a Warre Hive. Some of these tools you may already own, and some you may need to purchase. Feel free to use whatever tools you like as you build your Warre Beehive.
Listening to Your Bees
by Peter Dight
I believe the hiss is a warning…
I’ve a reasonable library of beekeeping books, and a couple of years ago I was reading an old book which mentioned listening to your bees to see if they are going to swarm. It told of how a queenright colony, when their hive is sharply tapped upon, will react by ‘hissing’. I believe the hiss is the bee equivalent to a warning signal, generated by a section of the population fluttering its wings in response to the vibration caused by the tap.
Installing a bee package is easy when the bees are calm
Two days ago I was able to install a package of bees which were purchased from Ruhl Bee Supply into a Warre Beehive which I had assembled. The bees were surprisingly calm, considering they had just made a long trip from Southern California. After I readied the beehive by rubbing the inside with beeswax, I set it up on a steady hive stand made of 4×4’s and 2″ lumber. Then, I sprayed the bees with a spray bottle containing a mixture of sugar and water in order to make sure they remained completely calm.