Bees bringing in pollen

It was a very mild day today (about 12.5 deg C) and the weather was dry and fairly bright so I took the opportunity to have a quick look at my bees. I'm pleased to say that I saw bees flying from all my hives and saw some bees bringing in pollen, which is a good sign that all is well with a colony. On each hive I lifted the roof off and had a quick look through the clear plastic crown boards.

The photo above shows hive number one. There's still some fondant left on the top bars of the hive and there seems to be a good many bees on the tops of the frames. I had to requeen this hive in July last year after the queen had mysteriously disappeared and the new queen the bees raised turned out to be a drone layer. This colony did not take the syrup down as well as I would have liked last autumn, which is why I gave it some fondant in October and again in December.

The photo above shows hive number two. I'm very worried about this one! There seems to be very few bees although the bees from this hive were flying well today and bringing in pollen. This colony was my best last year and yielded 30 lbs of lovely honey.

Looking back at my records I see that the queen in this colony is now entering her third season, but she was possibly superceded last August. I had found queen cells in this colony which were later sealed, but when I inspected the colony just before the new queens were due to emerge there was no sign of the queen cells and I found eggs in the colony. I don't think they swarmed, so either they superceded (or tried to anyway), or they were going to swarm and changed their minds! Unfortunately there's no way to know for certain because the original queen was not marked.

This colony remained very strong into the autumn last year, but after the suspected supercedure I never saw the queen, and there were not very many eggs in the colony towards the end of the season. There really should be more bees in this colony now and I suspect that either the original queen is still in residence and is not laying well, or that the new queen has a problem. I definitely need to have a closer look at this colony as soon as I can, but the weather is just not warm enough yet for a full inspection. I "hefted" the hive and it is still very heavy, so there's plenty of stores, but the cluster of bees has moved into the front right corner of the hive so may have become separated from the stores.

The photo above shows hive number three. Last August I damaged the original queen whilst marking her and the bees failed to rear a new queen. My first attempt at requeening in September failed and I tried again in October to introduce a new queen. However after introducing the new queen I was not able to verify that she had been accepted and  I never observed any eggs or larvae in this colony because it was so late in the season and it was too cold to do a full inspection. Therefore I can't be certain that this colony went into the winter in a queenright state, although the fact that the colony is still alive and reasonably strong would suggest that there must be a queen in residence. I need to have a closer look at this colony as soon as I can when the weather improves.

The photo above shows a nuc that I overwintered. After my various manipulations towards the end of last year I ended up with three or four frames of bees that I could not find a home for, so I put them in this nuc and introduced a queen. That was last September and before winter closed in I was able to verify that the queen had been accepted and I observed eggs and larvae. My reasoning was that if I could successfully bring this nuc through the winter then I would have a "spare" colony which I could unite with one of my other colonies if necessary or build up into a full colony in the spring. I'm pleased that this nuc has made it this far, but I will know more when I do a proper inspection.

Roof

Start by cutting a piece of 11mm thick OSB measuring 505mm by 505mm. You can use plywood if you want - I have used OSB because it is cheaper and lighter. Our cat "Lucky" likes to help me when I'm making hives!

Next cut some strips of 18mm thick plywood 150mm wide. From these strips cut two pieces 505mm long, and two pieces 469mm long. These will form the sides of the roof. The following photo shows one piece of each length.

Mark a line 18mm in from the ends of the 505mm long pieces and then mark and drill the holes for the screws.

Glue and screw the 469mm long pieces to one of the 505mm long pieces as shown in the following photo.

Then glue and screw the other 505mm long piece to complete the sides of the roof (see photo below). Check that the structure is square and true before the glue dries.

Now run a bead of glue along the top edges and nail the 505mm x 505mm piece of OSB in place using 5 or 6 nails along each edge.

Turn the roof over and fit some insulation under the OSB. I've used 50mm thick rigid high density foam insulation that I had left over from insulating a roof, but you could use ordinary white expanded polystyrene insulation. You can glue the insulation in place if you wish but I found that if you cut it to the correct size you can squeeze it in so that it stays in place without glue. The insulation I used was in two separate pieces so I put some gaffer tape along the join to seal it.

Before fitting the final roof covering it's a good idea to give the plywood sides of the roof (including the bottom edges) a coat of wood preservative, but make sure it's bee friendly! I use boiled linseed oil because it is safe for the bees and I like the honey coloured finish it gives to the wood.

Now you must decide what type of roof covering to use. Perhaps the most economical is roofing felt. I've used thin felt as sold for use on garden shed roofs. First of all cut a square of felt about 700mm by 700mm and place the hive roof upside down in the centre of the piece of felt.

Keeping the felt as tight as possible, fold it up over the sides of the roof and nail it in place using large headed felt nails. Do this on one side and then on the opposite side. Then fold the felt as shown on the following photo and secure the remaining two sides.

That's it! The basic structure of the hive is finished. The following photo shows the floor, brood chamber, super and roof assembled, but please note that all the external surfaces of the floor, brood chamber and super still need to be treated with wood preservative (in my case boiled linseed oil) to complete the job.

In future posts I'll go through how to make a simple crown board and clearer board, as well as how to assemble the frames and wax foundation that you'll put in the hive. I would recommend that you buy "flat pack" frames from one of the many suppliers - I don't think it's worth trying to make your own from scratch.

Super

The design and construction of the super is very similar to the brood chamber. The only difference is that the super is not as deep as the brood chamber (hence they are sometimes referred to as "deeps" and "shallows").

Start off by cutting a strip of 18mm thick plywood 150mm wide. Then, from this strip cut two pieces 460mm long. These will form the front and back walls of the super.

For the sides of the super, cut a strip of plywood 94mm wide, and from this strip cut two pieces 424mm long. You'll also need some other softwood sections to complete the sides. There are:

• 32mm x 18mm x 424mm long (2 pieces required)
• 32mm x 12mm x 424mm long (2 pieces required)
• 44mm x 18mm x 424mm long (2 pieces required)
• 12mm x 6mm x 424mm long (2 pieces required)

I found all these softwood sections readily available at my local DIY store (which is why I used these sizes). The following photo shows all the parts required to make up one side of the super.

Make up the top and bottom side rails and attach them to the plywood side pieces using the same method as described for the brood chamber. The completed super sides are shown in the following photo.

Again, using the same method as described for the brood chamber, make up the basic structure of the super from the previously completed sides and the plywood front and back walls. Check that the super is square and true before the glue dries.

It just remains to add runners or castellated spacers. For supers, I use castellated spacers that take 10 frames. To fit these, first of all turn the super upside down on a flat surface. Then lay the castellated spacers against the inside faces of the sides of the super as shown in the following photo.

Nail the castellated spacer in place and then do the same for the other side of the super. The following photo shows the completed super (turned back up the right way) with a super frame in place. The top of the frame should be flush with the top edges of the super and there should be a bee space between the sides of the frame and the walls of the super, and also a bee space under the bottom of the frame.

Now if everything has gone according to plan, the super should be a perfect fit on top of the brood chamber you have already made.

You should make at least two supers for every hive, but extra supers always come in handy and may be required if you have a bumper honey harvest.

Brood Chamber

Back to hive construction. In this post I'll go through how to make a brood chamber. I'll be making it to standard National dimensions with bottom bee space, but it would be fairly easy to adapt the design to another standard.

Start off by cutting a strip of 18mm thick plywood 225mm wide. Then, from this strip cut two pieces 460mm long. These will form the front and back walls of the brood chamber.

Now, for the sides of the brood chamber, cut a strip of plywood 169mm wide, and from this strip cut two pieces 424mm long. You'll also need some other softwood sections to complete the sides. There are:

• 32mm x 18mm x 424mm long (2 pieces required)
• 32mm x 12mm x 424mm long (2 pieces required)
• 44mm x 18mm x 424mm long (2 pieces required)
• 12mm x 6mm x 424mm long (2 pieces required)

I found all these softwood sections readily available at my local DIY store (which is why I used these sizes). The following photo shows all the parts required to make up one side of the brood chamber.

Take the 44mm x 18mm section and glue the 12 x 6mm section to it as shown in the following photo. Then nail through the 12 x 6mm section to the 44mm x 18mm section at 3 or 4 locations along its length.

This will form the bottom side rail of the brood chamber. You'll need 2 of these, one for each side.

Now take the 32mm x 12 mm and the 32mm x 18mm sections and lay them together as shown in the following photo (the 32mm x 18mm section is lying flat and the 32mm x 12mm section is standing on its edge).

Mark a pencil line along the inside of the corner where the two sections meet. Separate the sections and then on the 32mm x 12mm section mark and drill three locations along the length of the piece to take the screws.

Glue and screw the sections together as shown in the following photo. These will form the top side rails of the brood chamber.

Now take one of the 169mm wide plywood sides and lay one top rail and one bottom rail along the edges as shown in the following photo.

Mark a pencil line along the inside of the corner where the top and bottom side rails meet the plywood side. Separate the sections and then on each side rail (top and bottom) mark and drill three locations along the length of the side rails to take the screws (you can just about see the screw holes in the following photo).

Now glue and screw the top and bottom side rails to the plywood side. Repeat the process to make the other side of the brood chamber. The completed sides are shown in the following photo.

Lay the 460mm x 225mm flat plywood front (or back) of the brood chamber on the bench and stand the sides on their ends as shown in the following photo.

Take a pencil and mark where the sides meet the front of the brood chamber. Remove the sides and mark and drill four locations where the front of the brood chamber will be screwed to the sides (I've gone over the pencil lines with a red marker so you can see them clearly in the following photo).

Glue and screw the sides to the front of the brood chamber as shown in the following photo.

Now do the same thing for the back of the brood chamber. The following photo shows the partly completed brood chamber just before the back is screwed on to the sides.

The following photo shows the completed brood chamber. You should check the brood chamber is square and true before the glue dries.

It just remains now to nail frame runners on to the sides of the brood chamber. I would recommend using metal runners instead of plastic ones - they are only marginally more expensive and you don't have to remove them if you want to sterilise the brood chamber by scorching the wood using a blowtorch.

The following photo shows the completed brood chamber with a standard BS frame in place. The top of the frame should be flush with the top edges of the brood chamber, and there should be a bee space between the sides of the frame and the brood chamber walls, and also a bee space under the bottom of the frame.

Now, if everything has gone according to plan, the brood chamber should be a perfect fit on top of the open mesh floor which you have already made.

Personally, I like to attach the brood chamber to the floor using strips of metal pre-drilled to take screws. I find that attaching the brood chamber to the floor makes moving the hive much easier, and it is a simple enough job to remove the screws and lift the brood chamber off the floor if required. The following photo shows the strips of metal fitted to the hive I built last year.

Next time I'll build a super for the hive. The super is very similar to the brood chamber, but shallower. Happy hive building!

The first flowers of spring

Thankfully we have not had the snow and freezing temperatures that much of mainland Britain have been experiencing this weekend. Today was relatively mild and I went for a walk around the garden in the vain hope that I might see some bees on the Snowdrops.

One of the things I like most about keeping bees is that it has made me pay much more attention to which plants are in flower and what might be a potential source of pollen or nectar. At the moment the only flowers around are the Snowdrops, but they are one of my favourite flowers because they herald the coming of the longer days and the warmer weather.

I went down to the hives today but it was too cold for any bees to be out and about. I had a very quick peek under the roofs of each hive and was able to see that there were at least some bees in each of my hives (I have clear plastic crown boards so I did not have to open the hives up).

I was surprised to see a good many bees up on top of the top bars of the frames, just under the crown board - maybe with my well insulated roofs it's the warmest place to be! This meant that I was able to clearly see the location of the cluster of bees in each hive.

In one hive the bees have moved into the front right corner of the hive - this worried me slightly because I'm scared that by going into a corner they might become isolated from the stores in the rest of the hive. My nuc seems to be quite weak and I'm not sure if it will be viable come the spring, but hopefully it will be.

Here's hoping for an early spring and some warmer weather!

Open mesh floor - Part 2

It's time to fit the metal mesh! This mesh can be purchased ready cut to size from some of the major beekeeping supply companies, or you buy it from your local engineering materials stockist, or even DIY store. You can use galvanised steel mesh, or stainless steel wire mesh, although the former is the cheaper option. For the mesh floor you need a square piece of mesh measuring 460mm by 460mm. Lay the mesh on top of the floor base frame and check that everything lines up.

We need some strips of wood measuring 18mm x 21mm in cross section. You can cut these strips from the plywood sheet, but for convenience (and strength) I am using 18mm x 21mm planed white wood (bought from my local DIY store). Cut three lengths of 18mm x 21mm wood, two pieces 460mm long and one piece 424mm long. Drill three holes in each piece, through the 18mm wide face and screw all three pieces through the wire mesh to the floor base frame. Screw the 460mm long pieces to the sides and screw the 424mm piece along the back as shown in the following photo. Secure the wire mesh to the front cross member by means of a couple of flat headed nails (or drawing pins). This floor has been designed to take a standard entrance block, but you could make your own easily enough from a piece of 18mm x 21mm wood (or 21mm x 21mm wood if you want to be able to turn the entrance block around to block off the entrance).

Now we'll turn our attention to the rear of the open mesh floor. The floor has been designed to give access at the rear for cleaning and for inserting a tray under the floor to catch debris and varroa mites so that varroa mite infestation levels can be determined. If you wish to you can fit strips of wood (or other material) along the inside faces of the side pieces to act as runners for a removable tray. If you do this please keep the runners well below the mesh floor - if a tray is positioned too close under the mesh floor then any varroa mites that drop on to it may be able to climb back up into the brood chamber. I stand all my hives on solid concrete paving slabs and have found that I can just place a tray in under the mesh floor without the need for runners.

In any case we need removable flap to give access under the mesh floor and to keep the drafts out when in place. Cut a strip of plywood 78mm wide and cut a piece 422 mm long from this strip. This will form the rear flap. The photo below shows the floor turned upside down for ease of access.

Attach the rear flap to the back of the floor base frame using hinges as shown in the following photo. I like to use long piano type hinges that can be easily cut to the required length, but any type of small hinge would do. Also note that I have screwed four small wood bolts with washers in to the bottom of the sides of the floor base frame to act as support feet and raise the plywood frame up a few millimetres off the concrete slab base that I use. You may not need there if you use another means of support for your hives.

Finally, turn the floor up the right way and insert a screw part way in to the rear flap to act as a handle for opening the flap. And that's it - job done! All that's needed now is a coat of your favourite bee-friendly wood preservative on the external surfaces and the open mesh floor is ready for service.

The following photos show the completed open mesh floor from various angles.








 

Open mesh floor - Part 1

Ok, here we go. The open mesh floor is arguably the most complicated part of the hive to make, but I think it makes sense to build the hive from the bottom up.

Cut a strip of 18mm thick plywood 100mm wide. If you are cutting from a full size sheet of plywood, this strip will be 100mm wide by 1220mm long. Cut this strip in half length wise at an angle of about 30 degrees as shown in the photo below.

These two pieces will form the sides of the open mesh floor. Using your square, mark a perpendicular line across each piece where it starts to taper to a point. Measure and mark another line 460mm from the first line and then cut along this second line. Cut another 100mm wide strip of plywood from the sheet and cut a piece 424mm long from this strip (the plywood I'm using is 18mm thick and the 424mm dimension is derived from 460mm minus twice the thickness). This piece will form the front cross member of the floor. Finally we need another piece of wood 424mm long and 18mm x 21mm in cross section. This will form the rear cross member. You could cut this from plywood, but it is more convenient to use a planed white wood section of these dimensions. Now you should have four pieces of wood as shown in the following photo.

Drill three holes (about 9mm in from the edged or from the perpendicular line across the angled end) in each side piece and partially insert screws as shown in the photo below (I have used 35mm long screws with countersunk heads).

Using PVA wood glue, glue and screw the front and rear cross members to the sides as shown in the following photos. Fit the rear cross member so that the 18mm side is horizontal (at the top) and the 21mm side is vertical (down the back). Ensure that the floor is square and adjust as necessary before the glue dries.



Now we need to cut another strip of plywood to form the landing board. This strip needs to be 170mm wide, but with one edge angled at approximately 30 degrees as shown in the photo below.

You should be able to adjust the angle of the blade on the circular saw to cut at the required angle. After you make the angled cut set the blade back to 90 degrees and cut another strip 170mm wide to leave you with a square edge on the plywood sheet (you can keep this second strip for use in future hives and it will save you having to adjust the blade the next time). Now cut a piece 424mm long from the 170mm wide strip. This will form the landing board.

Drill two holes in the angled sides, about 9mm in from the edge and partially insert screws as shown in the following photo. Then glue the angled edge of the landing board and also the ends.

Now insert the landing board into the front of the floor and screw together as shown in the photo below. Check that the floor is square and adjust as necessart before the glue dries.

You may notice that the angles sides extend beyond the landing board slightly. using a hand saw, cut the sides off flush with the landing board as ahown in the following photo.

That is the basic structure of the open mesh floor completed. Next time we'll fit the metal mesh and finish the floor off.