Greetings All
 
I was reading an old colonial edition beekeeping manual last night
and saw some mention of bee huts. I remember that somebody asked
about it a while ago, so here is what I read.
 
 They mention the use of bee huts to get bees away from 'Baboons,
people and ratels' A ratel is a honey badger - it does not feel
stings and tends to rip up hives.
 
 The basic design consists of a platform built in a tall tree. The
platform is surrounded by a thatch or plank wall with a trap light at
the top to allow escaped bees out. The suggestion was to build it for
eight hives.
 
 A barbed wire set of protrusions was then placed around the stem of
the tree, such that only an individual with a ladder could get past.
 
As I see it here one gets a number of advantages: height, shade,
early morning sun, protection, distance from ground where silly
humans can damage your bees etc.
 
Keep well
 
Garth
 
Garth Cambray           Camdini Apiaries
Grahamstown             Apis mellifera capensis
Eastern Cape Prov.
South Africa
 
Time = Honey
If parents taught kids about the birds and bees, guys would believe they were half the women they used to be!!
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