Final push for 2010 hives....

Greetings Bee People!

A bunch of us have been plugging away at our 2010 batch of hives this past week, making great progress and having a good time despite the fitful and sometimes dreary weather.

Our results are turning out to be handsome indeed as a number of people have commented.

 Here's a pseudo-complete setup (minus roof box) consisting of bottom board, one super, and a quilt box.  (Note flash of sunshine leaking in from the open shop door in the background!)

One hive has been delivered already.  The rest are still mostly in the shop awaiting final assembly.  We have about 20 top bars remaining to make (ran out of oak on Sunday) and the bottom boards yet to assemble.

Here's one of our ace hive carpenters looking casual on the job next to one of the roof assemblies.  Yes, we make it look easy, but that's mostly an illusion!

Not to dwell, but these hives are in fact so good looking that most observers seem compelled to inquire gently about what might easily be perceived as a measure of indulgence.  After all, bees in the wild (somehow) survived for millions of years without digs like these, preferring (insanely) the insides of old trees, crevices in rocks, etc.

Well, I can't answer for all those millions of years of roughing it, but these hives of ours are certainly a good upgrade--even a practical one--from the basic white-washed clunkers (yes, them's fightin' words) you see most everywhere.

The practical side of it is that our hives are:

• WARMER in winter and COOLER in summer owing to the thicker walls and the nicely vented roof
• Probably more DISCOURAGING TO MITES because they're made of slightly aromatic cedar
• DRIER owing to the quilt box stuffed with shavings which absorb and release moisture as needed
• LESS ACCESSIBLE TO ROBBERS AND WEATHER owing to the controlled opening size
• MORE DURABLE because they're cedar
• LESS TOXIC because we use no paint
• MORE SUSTAINABLE because they don't require purchase of wax foundation or frames

And, did I mention that they also just plain good looking?

Our costs to make these ritzy bee havens came in at about $62 for a four super setup with roof/quilt/bottom board.  Co-Op members get them at cost which is a really, really good deal since comparable two super hives go for about $240 commercially.  So, twice the bee space for a fourth of the cost (plus a little sweat equity).

These are slightly adapted Warre hives.  We use metal screening on the quilt box instead of the prescribed burlap.  If closet purists among us surface, we can always trade out the metal for cloth later.  We also modified the dimensions slightly in order to make them easier to fabricate using inch measures rather than metric measures.  Beyond that they're pretty much by-the-book.

I'll be working up a set of how-to instructions with photos for anyone interested in detailed specs.  With a little prep, you can make a hive in decently appointed wood shop in about 2 days.  Batches make things quite a bit more efficient.

My only reservation about these hives is the amount of wood required to make them.  One 4-super unit requires about 22 board feet of wood.  While there are few things I'd rather see a nice piece of wood go to, the tree-hugger in me still bridles a bit at seeing that much timber go under the saw.