My understanding is that the bees will eventually seal up the hive using propolis and alleviate concerns about wind blowing over the hive, additionally, once the brood box/super are full of honey, they are less likely to move.
My question is this though… when I first put the bees in the hive, won’t the brood box be very loosely sitting on top of the bottom board? Should I be doing anything to secure the brood box to the bottom board to protect against the hive getting knocked over by high winds, at least until the brood box gets heavier and the bees have had enough time to seal it up with propolis? And… I assume I will run into the same problem when I add the super.
One more question: How long will it take for the bees to seal the hive with propolis?
I am new to beekeeping, my first batch of bees arrive in may, so, please forgive any ignorance on my part.
I still worry about the hive falling over the first few days, I might use a strap or a couple bricks to weigh everything down until the bees have had a chance to seal everything up. Does anyone else do that?
I can’t tell where in the world you are based, but do you frequently experience high winds? Most people put their hives on top of some sort of hive stand, and one convenient solution is to use cinder (cement) blocks like these:
As they have a hole through them, and they are pretty heavy, you can lay the block so that the holes are horizontal, then pass a ratcheting strap through the block and over the hive top, holding it all securely together.
Lorne, your location might be helpful for more specific advise. Different locations render different procedures.
Some areas of extreme winds will warrant securing with bands, straps n latches. Where I live n with the protection of a fencing screen a brick is more than adequate ! You’ll have to judge your own needs there.
. Here’s one of my hive setups. It’s well protected but out on the western prairies they need a little help I would guess. You won’t be needing your Upper Flow-Super for a bit a wise. In my stack the setup does not have bees yet. I will remove all but the lower deep brood box when I get my Nuc’s.
. The second pic is my buddies wintered over hive I have been helping with and observing this winter. Here in the Pacific NW we use double brood hives. It’s a learning curve bro. Keep the questions coming. In see you’ve already gotten some great input !!
Dee, I remember 55 plus years ago having one nasty colony of Devil Bees. Even with a bee suit they were BAD ! Hated working with them … I had to leave for college then tour that included the Palm trees n sandy beaches n jungles of a distance land called Nam (Vietnam). Something happen while I was in Nam. Dad just said, he had lost all the bees to something so burnt the hives. To this day I really don’t know the whole story. He was sad to loss them for me my mom said. According to my wife he even ordered new bees (packages) … But they were dead on arrival. Vera said, dad never did try again n burnt everything after that. That was not the dad I knew ! So not sure The What’s n Why’s to this very day.
I do remember he n I working n enjoying our bees the 6 years I was in Jr n Sr High school. He continued several years after I left then something went wrong. Those were great times n memories together… Anyway ! “Here’s to you Dad ! I am getting back into being a beekeeper again !” That a brief of my past.
If he burned everything, it could have been American Foulbrood (AFB).
However, if you ever get a devil colony in the future, Michael Bush has some great advice on how to deal with them. Ours were pretty bad - smoke them and open the hive, you still got black rain on your veil - hard to see past the cloud of hundreds of bees attacking at once. Even with a bee suit, it wasn’t unusual to get 5 or 10 stings, and you could see a fuzz of stingers left in the fabric afterwards. Fortunately, re-queening was very successful in taming the hive.
Actually the requeening process was very surprising. When we removed and killed the old queen, it only took about 15 minutes for the hive to notice. You could hear the anxiety rising in the hive - more and more bees buzzing in a high pitched tone, as if they were asking, “Have you seen the Queen? No, have you?” When we put the new queen in (in a cage with bee candy to chew through), she was accepted right away, and the sound level dropped very quickly. Fascinating stuff.
Dee, we weren’t lucky enough to have a nearby mentor to help or internet info …, all we had were several Dept of agriculture pamphlets back then. We had started with one bought package the first year n caught a swarm that same Spring.
The Devil colony was from a swarm the 3 or 4th year into beekeeping. We didn’t know about re queening or even where to get those back 55 + years ago … But today … I’d waist no time with nasty one … Without having a new queen ordered n on the way.
We’d have been much more proactive in beekeeping had we all the feedback we can glean on this forum n the Net.
And yes ! My guess was dads bees might have acquired Foulbrood. That was about the only issue/problem we read about back then. It’s really nice to have the hindsight experiences n that is giving me foresight now.
That’s why I spent all winter building hive setups n aquiring equipment n supplies. Also I’ve been able to take a couple of great re enforcement bee classes n have several more scheduled (some are limited student hands on classes). I do have one fellow that is working with me n letting me watch n work one of his hives (limited). But has really helped me get my feel back some.
Sadly I waited until I turned 70 yrs to get back into this hobby. But better late than never !
Thank Dee, I’ll be reading his notes ! My neighbors n I really don’t need Bad Devil Bee ! Happy Valentines Day young lady ! Hope you get some special flowers ! If not here one !
The article is a bit tucked away, so I dug it out in case you couldn’t find it:
It sounds fairly labour-intensive, but it might be the only way with some really aggressive bees. We were lucky with our hot hive, in that they didn’t kill the new queen.
As I run only one brood box it’s easier than Michael explains.
I put an empty box in place of the hot one (what a lovely expression )
Then I divide the frames into pairs, putting them in the middle of correx boxes.
Go away for a cup of tea.
The queen will be between a pair of frames. Once she was on the floor of the original hive
Kill the queen
Add new queen in a push-in cage.
Go away and have a large Gin and Tonic.
Glad you mentioned that last critical step - the new queen never takes properly unless you do that part!
One thing I forgot to mention. I read recently about Michael Bush using “Queen juice” in addition to Lemongrass oil to persuade package bees or swarms to stay in a new hive. It took a lot of effort to work out what Queen juice is, but basically it is dead queens soaked in vodka or rubbing alcohol. The alcohol extracts some of the queen pheromones. I thought that next time I requeen a hive, I will have a good use for the dead body - that queen can continue to contribute to strength of my future colonies! I hate waste, so it seems like a good idea. Not sure if my husband will let me keep it in the freezer though…
That is hilarious
How is he going to find it?
Just don’t put it in a large tupperware box labelled BEE
PS
If you are having trouble finding a queen you can pin a dead one on a top bar…
Close up and go away for a half cup of tea.
Come back and your invisible queen will be attacking the dead one.
! 
Happy Valentines Day young lady ! Hope you get some special flowers ! If not here one ! 
)
