On Mon, 4 Sep 1995, Kevin Roddy wrote:
 
> Anyone else have experience is "converting" a
> primitive hive to a Langstroth type?
 
I had to move bees from a skep into a modern hive last year.
I inherited it and its residents, and they had not been managed
for the last two or three years of the owners life. The skep was
_seriously_ fragile so I couldn't move it without the whole lot
collapsing.
 
What I did, and what may give you ideas, was make a fairly thin
plywood panel, large enough to cover the new hive and to fit under
the skep. I made a hole in the centre about 3" square.
 
We slid the ply under the old skep (very carefully as the thing
was disintegrating in our hands) util the hole in the board was
roughly central, then used the board to lift the whole thing
aside for a short while.  Then we set up the new hive where the
skep had been, complete with some foundation and some drawn comb.
Next we lifted the board and skep onto the top of the new brood box,
where the cover board would normally have been, so thet the hole was
over the drawn comb. We sealed up all the holes we could in the skep
(hardest job of the lot ;-), covered it to help keep rain out and
left if for a few weeks.
 
As bees tend to try to keep the brood nest near the entrance, when
we finally opened the arrangement, the queen and brood were mostly
in the lower box as expected (hoped :-), so we were able to clear
the skep and remove it.
 
It worked out ok and we *don't appear* to have inherited any disease
from them. Oh, BTW, these were a pretty bad-tempered bunch, so we
requeened them.
 
Regards,
--
Gordon Scott   [log in to unmask]   CompuServe 100332,3310
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