Posts of Update Log

Oscar Perone

2012-11-28T19:17:48.371Z

Sadly, it seems Oscar Perone has taken down his website and associated information on his hive system.

Fortunately, I was bright enough to save a copy of his hive construction document in my Google Docs account - Oscar Perone: Colmena Economica (new window; Portuguese)

The hive is very interesting in many ways. It uses the basic horizontal dimensions of Langstroth but the comb and management system is very, very different. I suppose I'll have to do a page on it, now, because it is so different from others.

***

On another topic:

I'm learning some CAD so I can model all these hives; which will also make it easier for me to compile and publish construction plans and dimensions.

I'm also getting back into the developing the site. I found much of my old research and re-studying it. Expect more pages with more complete information to appear rapidly.

Link sharing - Beekeeping in Japan

2012-11-26T10:03:42.072Z

Just some more beeporn, but this is good beeporn. Youtube user Mituro36 has a channel on traditional beekeeping in Japan. This is his "how to build the hive" series of videos. Enjoy.

How to make hive [Nihonmitsubachi]

Here's the first video in the series:

I find it particularly interesting that he advocates charring the wood (cedar.)
What benefits does this provide over other treatment options?

Time to Build Something

2012-05-15T18:07:35.906Z

[finally!]

First, I'd very much like to thank those who have kindly donated funds. You have been extremely generous and it's well past time I rewarded that generosity with a build! Thus far, there has been a little under US$300 donated, which is quite enough for tools and materials. The weather is getting nice (I no longer have access to a garage for working in...) and I'm itching for it. If you go to the Facebook page, you'll find a poll where I ask which of the hives I'm interested in building this year to build first.

The first monies will go to acquiring tools as those were disposed of between my two moves since I started up the site. A rotary saw, drill and bits, hammer, sander and set of chisels are first on the list, not necessarily in that order. My camera battery is sadly dead, as well, so that also will be replaced for the photolog. I have CAD software and, surely, if I start working with it I can turn up some sort of construction plans.

Hit the Facebook link and chime in on what you want me to build, first, and I'll get started on it in the next fortnight.

Link sharing - Harvard pesticides study

2012-04-08T16:52:17.032Z

Harvard School of Public Health did a study on the effects of imidacloprid on honey bees and just published the results. The results indicate that imidacloprid causes colony death very similar to what is being commonly referred to as "Colony Collapse Disorder." The most common vector seems to be tainted high fructose corn syrup.

Link - Harvard School of Health colony collapse disorder pesticide press release.

This study makes one also wonder if imidacloprid builds up from sub-lethal doses in the human body and if an addiction to HFCS-containing foods could have harmful effects on us directly?

Link Sharing - Skep videos

2011-11-08T18:16:09.660Z

Giles Dennis, a professional beekeeper in northern France has graciously put up some skep videos on his web site.

http://www.ruche-warre.com/les-paniers.html

Link Sharing - DIY clearer board

2011-09-16T16:48:37.965Z

David Heaf, the English-language prophet of the Warré Peoples' Hive, was frustrated by the non-availability of clearer boards so he built his own, modeled after the plastic doo-dads which you can sometimes find to nail onto the bottom of a board. He details the process on his web site.

David Heaf makes an 8-way clearer board.

In other news, now that I have my boat built and in the water so I can go to work, I have space and maybe even time to build some hives! Gah! No, I am not lazy. If you're interested, I documented the build at my blog.

Paraplegic Racehorse built a Barton Skiff.

As I have kept saying for quite a while, now, the first hive built will be a Bienenkiste, followed by ... I need to check my notes. The tule rushes in my new (old?) area are nearing harvestable stage, so I may build some skeps, too. You'll know when I know.

Link sharing - Ruche tronc et abeilles noir

2011-05-01T18:38:59.341Z

A site all about the European black bee (apis mellifera mellifera) and beekeeping in traditional trunk hives. If you're a beekeeping history nut, this is a really neat site.

In French - L'arbre aux abeilles - Ruche tronc et abeille noir.

On-site translation into English or Deutsche available via a javascript link in the upper right corner of the page. Alternately, load the site through your favorite translator. I usually use Google Translate, but Babelfish and Bing Translator are also quite good.

Projects chosen and ... a new project!

2011-03-31T03:47:14.459Z

Still unemployed, dangit! Be that as it may, things are moving along. Slowly, ever so slowly, everything for this seasons' beekeeping and the necesary hive construction is moving right along. Much as I would like to, I simply cannot afford good lumber to build an AZ hive. With only found materials (pallet wood) and a small budget for screws and nails, the choices of hive are largely decided. It will definitely be at least one each of bienenkiste and Warré Peoples' Hive. There is also a possibility of a trunk hive, as I have located a source of good beech logs and just need permission to haul them away.

After my last update, I received two donations. I thank you, though I have not yet done so privately. Those monies are earmarked for a construction calculator to aide in my dimension conversions.

And... a new project to be added to my to-do list in the Other DIY Bee-Stuff category: a bee-lining box. Somebody remind me, next year. It looks more fun than a bee hive and should be able to fit between other projects. Until then, here's a link to a great source on bee-lining information -

https://sites.google.com/site/beelining/getting-started

Enjoy. Until next time...

Access and Calculators

2011-01-06T07:15:38.983Z

Today, added a small section about choosing means (direction) of accessing the inside of a hive on the Choosing Your Ideal Hive page. Still need a little bit on choice of mobile and stationary apiaries as well as enclosed or open apiaries. Those will have to await another day, however.

Also, am taking suggestions for free or super low-cost construction calculators to help in my unit conversions. And/or donations (see the Tip Jar) to help buy one.

Being unemployed sucks. Financing is a much bigger issue than originally anticipated. The first project is likely to be built from cast-off freight pallets. This also means it is likely to be built on the pattern of Oscar Perone's ideas. A Bienenkiste will probably be next because it's also highly suited for using recycled lumber (though the German promoters don't advertise the fact as well as they should).

Golz & Bremer lagerbeuten

2011-01-04T00:25:02.552Z

Spent most of the day re-locating my lost links to sites with measurements, photos and other details for Golz and Bremer type dual-chamber trough hives. Also work progresses on finding old links and measurements for rear-access cabinet hives (Swiss box, Normbeute52 and AZ hive).

I've decided to link to my original sources on all information pages. This will be gradually done as I re-locate all my lost links and files. Some can already be found in the Outside Links page, which will also be restructured.

Update and Sleepless Bees

2010-12-13T20:37:35.711Z

Your friendly site maintainer has recently completed a 2,000-mile relocation of his home, though he is still awaiting the monies to ship his belongings. That has put a bit of a delay on the project, of course, as had the many-month long devastating and completely debilitating bout of depression. Things are looking up, though I find myself unemployed and living largely on the charity of family, for the time being.

That said, once I get the garage in order, beehives (and boats) shall be constructed! I've been promising this for two years, now? Time to get on it, says I. It's sort of too bad that I moved to a part of the world where the laws require movable combs, though. I was looking forward to running a few fixed-comb type hives to see how they compared with movable types. First up are Beinenkiste, Warré and Langstroth hives.

Also, I found a cool article on sleep-deprivation effects on honeybees. Enjoy:

(PhysOrg.com) Sleepless honeybees miscommunicate, too, research shows

Spiffy Wiki

2010-10-01T17:06:19.855Z

I was answering a personal message at Beesource.com and, in the digging to re-locate and link to some of my sources, found this cool page: http://www.imkerpedia.nl/wiki/index.php/Bijen-behuizingen

You will probably need to run it through a translation service. I mostly use Google Translate. Rarely, but it does happen, the Microsoft Translator produces more read-able results.

Enjoy. I am. :)

More rear-access hives

2010-05-06T23:17:57.061Z

I stumbled across some more sites on rear-access hives and drawings today. No time to put up pages on them, though. This style of beekeeping is still much more common that I had thought. While it appears to be declining in favor of trough and stacking-box hives in Germany, it's going strong in places like Switzerland and Slovenia, where brand-new hives of this form can still be purchased from manufactures. That's just way cool!

Also, a very impressive website by a beekeeper's association. I think I have yet to run across an association site half a useful as that of the Beekeeper's Association of Slovenia (in Slovenian).

Hinterbehandlungsbeute info

2010-05-05T03:08:18.574Z

Having been recently fascinated with the idea of working my own bees from under a roof, I did some more research and found lots of good info on rear-access, cabinet, hives. A page on that iconic Germin hive, the hinterbehandlungsbeute (aka "Normbeute 52") has been started.

I have also been recently reading Oscar Perone's web pages, Apicultura Extensiva Natural. In his pages, he proposes a hive and low-intensity method of beekeeping. An info page is certainly forthcoming, but probably not soon. The hive, philosophy and methodology are extensively covered in Oscar's own pages. On the other hand, this is quite likely to be a construction project for the near future.

Kerkhoff page added & Facebook news

2010-02-26T01:08:33.382Z

Owing to the huge amount of traffic coming from searchers seeking more information and plans to build a Kerkhoff ventilated beehive, I have created a stub page for it. Unfortunately, I am not yet skilled enough to duplicate one well enough to do it justice. The links to the patent docs will have to suffice, for now.

In other news, we're on Facebook! Become a fan of the World Beehive Project Facebook Page.

Bienenkiste Page Added

2010-02-25T09:16:09.996Z

A basic information page has been added for the Bienenkiste. This also will be the site's first project build.

Construction Season is Here

2010-02-25T08:57:50.711Z

The weather has been warm for a couple weeks. Though March is soon upon me, with it's predictably unpredictable but usually quite nasty weather, it is time to get out the table saw and tape measure.

Which hive types to start with? All the hives I really /want/ to build right away are probably a little beyond my somewhat meager carpentry skills. For certain, those skills will improve as this project goes on, but... those complex hives like, unfortunately, the Kerkhoff and others will have to wait.

So, I'm thinking I'll start really simple and begin with a Bienenkiste, a hollow-trunk hive and one or two types of trough hive - probably a Layens dimension trough hive or maybe one of the Danish types. I probably also will build a variation on the Kerkhoff double, though. One without the fancy schmancy ventilation scheme because I'm not too sure I can cut, yet, with that kind of precision. We'll see.

Definitely a Bienenkiste, though. That's first up! Watch the page in the coming weeks. I'll be posting regular updates as the build progresses.

Winter is upon us

2009-11-21T21:06:36.742Z

Winter is here, and has been for a couple of months. My existing hives are as winter-ready as I can make them. Their survival is now in their own hands.

But you want to know about my construction projects! Well, here in Alaska, it's awfully cold to be working with wood outside. I think I have about another month of work in the garage on taxi repairs. Then I can move on to building some bee hives.

I am not entirely certain which types to start with. I suppose I should begin with the hives that bring the most search traffic, though: Kirkhof. BUT, I really don't want to build a proper kirkhof hive. They really are an enormous amount of work, with a very complex array channels and passages and moving components and, and... It's a project which should wait until my carpentry skills are able to meet the challenge and I feel I cannot do it justice. Furthermore, the patents cover TWO design types: a single-queen hive and the double-queen hive that everyone is probably most interested in. Rest assured, I will get around to them, but I really do want to wait until my carpentry skills can do them justice. Have patience, please.

Warre? I get lots of search traffic for Warre, also, but not only is Warre hive construction already well covered on other, more dedicated sites, but I also already have thirty Warre boxes and a bunch of floors, roofs and quilts for them.

UK Nationals. These are the third most in-demand search leading people to this site. The hives are only slightly more complex than Dadant and Langstroth. I probably will build a National this year. And probably also Lang and Dadants. Possibly also Newton.

I definitely will build a variant of the Kirkhof double, this year, because I want to use it in my apiary to see how it performs. Essentially, this hive will be a whole bunch of Dadant-depth six-frame nuc boxes designed specifically for use in a double-queen hive. I haven't quite got all the particulars settled in my head (and I haven't done any drawing or measurement calculations, yet) but the basic idea is to have one of the four walls of each box a very thin piece of wood, drilled with mesh-covered holes to allow hive scents, but not bees to pass, creating a competitive environment in the two colonies. Supers will be similarly configured and shared between the two colonies. This is high on my priority list.

Of course, I also need to complete my wax melter - and post the photos and any results I achieve when I start rendering. Also, I need to document and make plenty comments on my 'quick frame' idea. It's going to be a busy winter and the hive-building is only one of many projects.

Stay tuned. More to come.

Tip Jar and DIY Bee-stuff started

2009-07-24T00:35:47.888Z

I expect to be putting in a lot of work on the site in the coming months and years. I know it doesn't look like much, now, but this electronic parking space will eventually be full to brimming to goodies for all you beekeepers out there. I decided to go ahead and implement the tip-jar early.

DIY Bee-Stuff will be full of additional gadgets, gizmos, accessories and widgets to use in your beekeeping. Some of these will just be simplifications of existing bee equipment or low-cost options of same.

Moved the Solar Wax-Melter page into the DIY Bee-Stuff section, as well as a write-up of a super-cheap DIY frame idea I had.

Front page and hive-choice page changes

2009-07-23T22:57:08.279Z

Just an update of the front page including a listing of more hive-types, intentions for rate of construction, what I'll do with the final products, availability of blueprints, etc.

Also, the hive-choice page has been filled with more information and I pulled the link to my original horizontal vs. vertical article, pending further edits to make it more objective.

New section: Choosing your ideal hive

2009-07-21T22:19:48.063Z

As I was composing a reply to a forum thread on another site, it occurred to me that my response made for a pretty fair (my opinion) article on just one of many aspects of how to go about choosing which hive style to standardize your apiary on. Thus was born the Choosing Your Ideal Hive page and particularly the Horizontal or Vertical page (still needs editing to weed out some of the forum thread-oriented stuff...). As I find time, I'll be expanding this section. However, I seem to be making site updates about as rapidly as crystallized honey moves, under its own power, uphill during a snow storm so... probably not soon.

:(

In other news, I have finally decided how I want to section the site. I think I will probably separate it out by how the combs are arranged: horizontal vs. vertical. This makes generally more sense to me than a more-or-less national or geographic arrangement since some beekeepers may ultimately decide their ideal hive is of a type quite un-common in their geographic area. While that poses its own difficulties (and probably a new page on the site!), who's really going to tell you that you simply can not run Layens hives in areas dominated by horizontal top-bar hives?

Started work on a solar melter

2009-06-04T19:35:50.362Z

Started some work on a solar wax melter capable of taking full-combs from whatever your standardized hive-type is and anything "smaller". Really simple build, but my job is getting in may way for the time-being. Watch this site for the page. Coming soon!

Edit: A page has been started. You can find it here: Solar Wax Melter

Hoora! The site is live.

2009-01-26T21:46:24.455Z

Today marks the first of many days of activity on this site.