A friend of mine recently purchased a house complete with beehive in the
back yard.  He expressed an interest in keeping the hive on his property
and having me manage it.  Before he moved in, the previous owner took
quite a bit of honey from the hive.  Since the previous didn't have bee
overalls, or any equipment at all, this fellow wrapped himself up in a
bedsheet and affixed a coconut hat to keep the sheet in place to get the
honey.
 
Anyway, the hive was a two story plywood job, no frames at all.  When I
looked in the second story (which had three separate entrances) I saw that
the bees attached comb to the sides of the plywoodand built comb outward
into the box.  Below in what was the brood chamber (perhaps a square
entrance 3 inches by 3 inches) I saw twisted honeycomb, and many many bees
working the comb.  To my pleasant surprise, these bees were extremely
docile and gentle.
 
I removed the top story and replaced it with a 10 frame super.  However,
I was wondering how to manage the lower brood box that had no frames at
all.  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a maxim in my life, and if the
bees, who my friend tells me have been in this hive "for years" have been
able to cope, I should just leave well enough alone until the box starts
to rot and fall apart.  Anyone else have experience is "converting" a
primitive hive to a Langstroth type?
 
kevin roddy
[log in to unmask]