Computer case beehive

Step 7 Finished hive

The hive was attached to a 10cm diameter pole at a height of about 120 cm (top) for easy inspection of the bees at the end of our backyard facing south.

It looks as if the bees are happy with their new house. I saw the queen going out and in again. Very soon she will leave for a mating flight and will start laying eggs. 21 days later worker bees leave the cells while drones come out after 24 days.

Comments

[A good name]

Is that cap on the outside just meant for embellishment? And do you collect the honey?

[alois]

As mentioned in the text, the cap helps the bees to find their way back. Most of the beekeepers paint their hives. See for example here http://www.sachtleben.com/include/news.php?show=86,2
or here http://www.cthreepo.com/bees/2009/03/best-color-to-paint-beehive.html .

This hive will not produce enough honey to collect. The colony has to be moved in a larger hive when there will be newly born bees.

[alois]

(removed by author or community request)

[A good name]

How do you prevent bees from swarming exactly? I'm not exactly sure that I'll undergo this project, but I always wondered how you'd do that... (I'm actually more considering mason bees for my garden)

[alois]

See intro - third picture. The entrance is covered by a disk having 2 holes: a larger and a smaller. Once the queen has returned from mating, the disk is rotated to the smaller position preventing the queen to go out again.