# observation hive



## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

I'm in mn and have been thinking of a observation hive ,, but would like thoughts on if it would make it through winter ??? I do think I would have to feed it a lot ,, maybe from Jan til may ,, ... I'm thinking of a double deep 5 ,, so there will be 10 deep frames .. I would like to have a observation hive ,,but it would do double duty for me ,, it will make sure my sister inlaw would stay way in the winter , because she will not come here in the summer because I have hives ,, just to be sure she does not come here I told her there is a hive next to both doors ,, she said no way will she come til I get red of the hives ... I'm hoping the 4 I'm wintering come through so I have 8 next year ... then we will ask her over for a picnic in the yard .. of course It will be a day I need to cook some sugar syrup ,, and open feed on the picnic table .. I love my sister in law ..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Tom I love one of my sister in laws too :hysterical: About like a real bad tooth ache. Easy to keep her away just have travel on the free way and all left turns to get to our house.

Like I was told a long time ago don't be afraid to expermint so go for it. Feeding them wouldn't be such a big deal to me. Nice placeto overwinter the queen youwant for breeding stock.
No I don't have one my self. Lucky would go nuts, he is still trying to get the piece of leaf off the living room window that stuck there during one of our wet wind storms a week ago.

 Al


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

What if you built it in your house in a window opening? They would stay warm and you could keep easy track of how they are doing. That should _really_ squinge the old gal out........


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Most people do one with a section of PVC pipe to the out side so they can do cleansing flights. I would use a ball gate valve as a door so they wouldn't be going out on cold windy days. Only open the valve when it was warm and sunny, maybe peek at the out side hives to see if they are doing the cleansing flights.

If I built one I would start out with a 5 frame nuc box that has a feeder hole and route out a section on both sides for some viewing glass. Yes I would use glass over plastic. I've heard the glass cleans easier.











 Al


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

let me know how it goes Tom--i was thinking it would be fun to have one to take to the schools.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Fellow here has one he takes all over the place. He marks the queen has stacked two frames and swaps them out each time he is going to show it. He takes it to the spring garden shows in the area and sells a ton of honey during that event. Goes to all the fairs and different festiviles, to schools when invited in the spring and even some in the fall. He sells so much honey at these events he buys from club members by the 5 gallon pail to keep up with the demand.

 Al


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

school here didn't like the kids even bringing a drone to class ,, they only wanted to let the other kids pet a drone ( Al ,, I know what your going to say "" those kids need some toys ''" ).. but they didn't mind a wasp nest 6 feet from the office door ... kids got stung 3 or more times a week ... guess that's the way some schools are .... I thought about asking if they wanted me to pull the hive , but then that's up to them to remove it , they didn't seam to mind the wasp's in school , cause they never did any thing to kill it ... 
about the kids and toys ,, what they ask for is drones to pet ,,, ber wax ,, they take ber wax and will set and form stuff , cat , dog , bird , deer , almost any thing , they play with it for hours .. I know weird kids , but there my grand kids ,, that should explain it ..:shocked:


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

i dont think bees will winter very well in an observation hive..not enough lateral volume to allow them to get into a winter ball area to conserve energy.

if hive is kept at a warmer temp, the bees will not go dormit and that also causes problems....i think people combine the observation bees with a normal hive before the winter season 

if i am wrong please let me know.....i have always wanted an obs hive but didn't have the heart to loose a queen during the recombine.


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

i dont think bees will winter very well in an observation hive..not enough lateral volume to allow them to get into a winter ball area to conserve energy.

if hive is kept at a warmer temp, the bees will not go dormit and that also causes problems....i think people combine the observation bees with a normal hive before the winter season 

this is just what my thoughts are . I was hoping someone from cold country would have gave one a try..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Tom the girls never go dormat i n the winter. When cold enough they form a cluster where they keep the center about 94F. Only the queen gets to remain in the center the rest of the girls eat honey flap their tiny wings and move from out side to center and bvack to the out side produceing body heat to keep the cluster warm.


Now with that said one of the clubs here has a observation hive inside and a couple set up out side on a nature centers property. The one inside stays inside all winter but is taken out side to be redid in the spring with a new queen and drawn comb with bees like a 5 frame nuc. They get fed all winter, and are in a five frame set up.
They only once had a problem, no mite treatment in the fall so they were just over whelmed and died in Febuary.

:Al


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

but if the hive is warm are they going to form a cluster? and if they don't, aren't they going to consume a lot of food? and if that is so, isn't cleansing flights into cold weather going to be a problem


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

I do know they don't go dormat ,, I just toke it as not flying out side .... 


Now with that said one of the clubs here has a observation hive inside and a couple set up out side on a nature centers property. The one inside stays inside all winter but is taken out side to be redid in the spring with a new queen and drawn comb with bees like a 5 frame nuc. They get fed all winter, and are in a five frame set up.
They only once had a problem, no mite treatment in the fall so they were just over whelmed and died in Febuary.

this is what I was looking for ,, if they would winter in the OH ,, I just don,t want the hive dieing off from being a wamer spot then out side but not being able to fly in the open .... 

off topic 
the scale I had LIE'S it said 145 pounds ,, I got a new scale and I checked to make sure its right ,, the hives are 105 ,, 100 , 95 , 95 pounds .. boy I'm ticked off .. live and learn ,, I was wondering about if the scale was LIEING ,,


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Tom try to find a place in the house where you can keep the heat down. Like I said before you have to expermint to learn any thing. 

As for cleansing flights they can hold it for some time. Watch for sunny days with out much wind and open the valve to let them go out side. I have pictures some place of my hives brown spotting the snow at 19Fon a sunny wind less day.

 Al


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