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----------------- Original message (ID=215D7924) (86 lines) ----------------

To All interested in Observation Hives: About 15 or 20 years ago I built
three glass hives and made it like looking at a book. Three pages and you
can open them up and look at both sides. The centre one is three combs thick
and the outer hives one comb thick. I made them 2 combs wide and 6 combs
deep.

Single combs deep is important because everyone wants to see the queen, and
I always mark her so she is easy to see. On the hive that is three combs
wide you can't generally see the queen as she usually stays in the centre
combs.

This was the Worlds Largest Glass bee hive at the time and maybe still is
but  I have seen one in Quebec several years ago that was larger but made
different.

I have my Glass Hive in our show room up here at mile 42 on the  Alaska
Highway,its  called "the Honey Place", be sure to come in and see it when
you make a trip to Alaska.

These observation hives are the best educaters to the beekeeping industry
you can get. We have over 100 people a day in the summer time and sell
plenty of honey, pollen, beeswax, honeystix and lots of bee related
products.

The bees never make it over the long winter here in the glass hives as they
are to active all winter with no brood rearing, so they just dwindle away.
If you make them too strong in the Spring they will swarm by summer, and
they don't seem to be able to requeen themselves.
Seeing them swarm in a glass hive is got to be one of the most interesting
part of nature that I have seen. I have been at this business, commercialy
for over 50 years and I always learn something new.

Bees will always cluster when the temp gets below 56 F as they are cold
blooded and it is the only way they can survive. If you watch your glass
hive you will notice this, plus if you look close you can see the odd varroa
mite. You can never see very many here because we are starting with a new
colony each year.

We have people come in and sit down and watch the bees for quite some time,
claims it relaxes them, Try it yourself .
Ernie Fuhr
Mile 42 Alaska Highway
Fort St John B.C.