Greetings to all. I've been lurking on this list (and learning a lot!) for
several weeks now. I'm new to beekeeping. I took a local course, and read
a couple books, and then purchased two hives and nucs this spring. So far
they seem to be doing well.
I'd like to purchase a couple more, but I have concerns about my hives, and
as I began asking questions about my concerns I began getting many
conflicting answers. In particular, what I am reading about and being told
is consistently conflicting with what I am seeing done, and the theory
sounds better to me than what I am observing being practiced. I am torn
between having my hives constructed they way it seems they OUGHT to be
constructed, and the way that the experienced beekeepers around me seem to
be doing it.
My understanding of the theory:
Bee space, about 3/8 of an inch, is enough room for bees to move through (so
they will not gum it up with propolis) but not enough room to build comb (so
they won't gum it up that way.) One wants bee space above, below, and on
all sides of the frames in a hive so that ideally, they will not get glued
to anything else by the bees.
My understanding of hive design that implements that:
Bottom boards have a 3/8 inch lip on thee sides. Frame bottoms are level
with the bottom of their supers, leaving bee space beneath them when placed
on the bottom board. Frame tops are 3/8 inch below the tops of their
supers, leaving bee space between stacked supers. Feeder boxes and inside
covers are flat on the bottom, leaving bee space beneath them when placed on
a super. In short, everything should be flat on the bottom and have bee
space on top, except for the outside cover.
In my admittedly very limited experience, I have yet to see such a hive!
My two hives, purchased from a 60 year old beekeeping supply store, has the
frames slightly higher in the supers, leaving 1/2 bee space above and below
the frames. That works fine between supers, but when placed on the bottom
board it leave 1.5 times bee space, and I get burr comb under the frames.
The top covers have a 3/8" lip on both sides, so I get burr comb on top of
the top frames as well. The feeder boxes are flat on the bottom, leaving
only 1/2 bee space beneath them.
I called the supplier to ask about the reasons for these dimensions, and was
told that it was to give extra ventilation by leaving a little more space at
the bottom. I don't understand how that gives more ventilation if it
encourages burr comb.
I learned recently of an old bee keeper (63 years of beekeeping, now 83
years old) down the street from me. He finally gave up last year on keep
hives (for health reasons), but he still sells equipment and loves to share
his knowledge. I though perhaps he could explain this too me.
I told him my understanding of the theory, and he said I was exactly right.
Then I looked at the supers he was building, and they were the same as the
other guys! More accurately, they were constructed differently, and the
frames *would* sit level with the bottom of the supers, but he had added a
small metal ridge to the rabbet that supports the frames (to keep the bees
from gluing down the frames he told me) and that ridge raised the frames by
about 1/2 bee space.
This morning I went to beesource.com and looked at the Langstroth design
available there. Here I thought I might find confirmation of my theoretical
understanding. I found frame support rabbets 5/8 inch deep, and elsewhere
on the site reference to 1/2" think top bars on frames, which would leave
only 1/8" above the frames, not bee space at all.
So everywhere I go I am told one thing, but shown another. I want to
purchase a few more hives, and right now I think I want to order them to be
consistent with my theoretical understanding, but I am hesitant to go
against what everybody around me is doing when I am so new to all of this.
Can anybody shed some light on this for me?
Frank.
-----
The very act of seeking sets something in motion to meet us;
something in the universe, or in the unconscious responds as if
to an invitation. - Jean Shinoda Bolen
|
