Well its heading into winter down under and I figured the 19 mm/ 3/4" red cedar digs needed to be upgraded for the ladies. My theory is the less energy expended on trying to keep warm the more energy for maintenance for coming months. 45 mm / 1- 3/4" thick red cedar walls worked out well. I also replaced the old bottom board with the new one Flow sent to replace the defective one. I think i’ll replace the wire mesh on the old board, and with the brood box I am not using this winter… - who would have guess it…I have the makings of another hive Now I have to build a cool looking roof for the new hive!! I wonder how long it will take my wife to figure out??
That’s a solid hive for our winters. Here in the mountains my bees are happy in the standard weight hives but I run an inner cover with hole, then a quilt with vent then the lid as well as solid bottom boards. That seems to keep them cosy.
It would be interesting to run that hive beside a standard hive to see how it goes in comparison.
Yeah, a bit of overkill for winters that don’t get very close to freezing. I have been told I tend to go a bit overboard…but who needs to listen to that negativity! hahaha
My thought is look where bees select their hives in nature…thick heavy trees or in some cases nicely insulated houses.
Doing a side by side comparison is way beyond my depth at this point in time…maybe a retirement project.
The roof worries me a bit.
That area where the roof/lid meets the hive will not have bee access and hence could easily leak rain, or melted snow, with no propolis seal.
Using it as a brood box with flow hive super would be fine.
If you are going to over winter with the cor flute at its highest position making a solid floor remember to take it out to clean it now and again because the bees won’t be able to.
I do think that @busso makes a decent point. Unless the bees will have access to the roof area to propolize it and make that joint water proof, it might be wise to just put a bit of flashing around that joint to ensure that water sheds over it and does’t wick into the hive adding extra condensation to the hive, esp in winter when it will be cold and less likely to dissipate.
OK, better still this before it gets to far off the topic of building a thicker home for the girls. I’m pretty savvy when it comes to building stuff. The roof has been modified on the inside so it fits tightly around the cover and the girls can get to the cover. No chance of any wicking from rain or a chance of a pile of snow… I’m in Melbourne.
Thanks for the concern,
O
Hi Ogre, well done on the modification. The bees should be nice & cosy in there, summer AND winter. Another advantage is it wont break your back trying to lift it. Wall thickness like that is often used with native beehives because native bees have trouble regulating temperatures. Whereas honeybees are better at regulating the temp. because of their body mass.
Anything we can do to help the honeybees regulate the temp. can only be an improvement. I hope that stuff you got didn’t break the bank:)
I’m lucky enough to have a source for free red cedar cut offs. I just have to be creative when using the limited length. The next project will be a roof fit the second hive… Not sure of the design yet, but it will have to be something different.
Thanks for your vote of confidence. You got me thinking, why not a temp probe on the inside wall of the box? Then track the outside temp versus the inside. There should be a bit of decent weather to change it around to the original box and track that for a bit.
Ah that’s fantastic Ogre, call me “old fashioned”, I just go for a flat roof. I wished you lived a bit closer, I’d try to barter for some. That would make fantastic native bee boxes, I reckon.
Nice sloop with roller furling on the jib. I use to sail with my brother on cutter rigged Endurance 35. Been to Alsska n back. Great fun n memories. Gerald
I could imagine a trip up to Alaska would be a life long memory. I just have the pleasure of sailing Sydney Harbour and surrounding coastline. That does me just fine.
Now I have to build a cool looking roof for the new hive!! I wonder how long it will take my wife to figure out??
