Bees at the White House

I guess the presidential chefs want fresh veggies from the back yard. Hey also have bees for honey. I hope they are topbars.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/19/AR2009031902886.html?hpid=topnews

Injection Mold

I have been asked to explain what I mean by injection molding.

You would have to see the hive to fully appreciate what I have in mind but here is an attempt to explain my intent.

This is the really exciting part for me.

First and foremost the inside of the hive, the part the bees and honey are in contact with will be 100% wood i.e. topbars, entrance and sides. Of course this could be post consumer stock or top quality cabinet grade products. I suppose if the bees gather on the outside of the hive, as the are prone to do, they will be in contact with the plastic but the day to day activities will not be in contact with the plastic.

That being said the hive would be made of a plastic compound that would have to not be UV sensitive and food grade and it would have to stand up to extremes of heat and cold.

The whole thing would be light, much lighter than a complete wooden hive and would be strong enough to support the moving of a hive full on honey. The best part is that when empty it would fold up for shipping. Setting it up would be measured in minutes and would allow the total novice beekeeper or person that is not inclined to build things quick and simple access to the topbar hive.

I also believe it could be produced at a price point that is far less that the same volume Langstrom hive.

Paint

I hate to paint. I am just about finished painting the 3 hives I have built. This is my 2nd coat of paint on top of primer.

I am more convinced than ever that many people do not use TBH because you can't just buy one from any supplier.

I am currently revising the design of the hive legs. The wonderful think about creating new designs is that it sometimes takes hands on doing to better understand and transfer from paper to reality.

Centrifuge extraction of Topbars

I have so many random thoughts that it is hard t remember them at once. I think I have a way to extract topbars with a standard centrifuge extractor. As with all of my ideas I need to try or find someone willing to give it a try.

Wild hive removal

This will be my first attempt to remove a wild hive.

I answered a post on Craigslist last fall from a person near my home who had a hive living in their chimney and they wanted someone to remove without harming the bees. I explained that I am new to this but was excited to give this a try. They seemed willing to let me.

That was the end of the conversation last fall. I just got an email from them and they are still interested. Now that it is spring it is time to try the move. I hope to hear from them this weekend and I can make a scouting trip and start a plan.

Overwhelmed

I just started reading the blogs from several researchers. I am completely intimidated. I still think my design is strong but suddenly I feel like a small fish in an big pond. I hope I can get some of those really smart people to take a look and give me an honest opinion.

Spun honey machine

I have a wonderfully simple idea to create a machine that would make top quality spun, whipped, or whatever you call crystalized honey. I would create batches from one to many pounds of spun honey is very short order.

The best Top Bar Hive ever

I think I have created the best Top Bar Hive EVER!!

Let me first say that I am a capitalist who believes it is possible to both make a profit and give things away free. So my idealist plan is to develop this bee hive and produce it commercially then give the plans away free. If this design is as successful as I think it will be I would not want to keep the ideas and principles way from developing countries or hobbyist who could not other wise buy my commercial hive. I think I will be able to make and sell the parts and pieces of this hive to those who other wise could not build it from the plans either because they do not have the skill or they do not have the time. So in the end I hope to provide both a saleable commodity and a free set of plans that can be used to build a hive with the same specifications.

My friends have asked me why is it that I think I have designed the best hive ever when people have been keeping bees for thousands of years. Surely someone has come up with these ideas before. I suppose it is arrogant to think I have come up with something and no one else has ever thought of before. But if it is then it is. I really think I have done it. However, I am not so arrogant to think that my design will actually work in its current form.

This is why I need help. I need researchers and beekeepers who are willing to work with me in the development process. I also need help setting up a company that will offer stock to all the people who help.

My process of developing this hive started when I learned that for the most part honey bees will live and produce honey in just about any open space that will keep them dry when it rains. So I reason that any other design characteristics are purely intended for the beekeeper. As long as we keep the bees dry they should produce honey.

I have researched and read so much stuff on bees and hives that I think I will go crazy. There are so many benefits to the foundationless top bar type of hive and beekeeping that can be found though simple Internet searches that I will never have the time to list them here. There are also as many ideas on building top bar hives as there are people building them. So I will not list them here. What I will list are the issues that I think I have addressed below.

My design is a top bar hive that:
1) Is stackable for moving and storage.
2) Is easily moved with little or no damage to the top bar comb.
3) Easy to protect from varmints such as skunks.
4) Has a one bee space porch type entrance that;
a) allows guard bees to ambush unwanted guests.
b) is easily closed for moving.
c) can easily be reduced for over wintering.
d) does not allow for flying directly into the hive. This is needed to help keep unwanted guests out.
5) Eliminates or allows the bees to regulate high humidity.
6) Has built in temporary comb storage to allow for easier manipulation and inspection of the hive.
7) Can be "supered" with standard foundation type honey supers.
8) Brood chamber can be expanded easily.
9) Has open or mite screened bottom that can easily be reduced for over winter.
10) Is particularly suited for keeping more aggressive or "African" strains of bees.
11) Allows for a more natural hive development.
12) Honey can be harvested without disturbing the brood.
13) Aggressive bees can be relegated to the brood chamber to allow honey harvest with NO bees flying free to harass the keeper.
14) Up to 10 of these hives can easily be loaded in a US standard 8 foot pickup bed.

Other items:
1) A feeder that can feed either liquid bee feed or honey or solid fondant type food.
2) Rack to fit into a pickup truck to allow for greater ease in movement of hives.
3) Harvesting devices that allow for greater ease and faster harvest times.
4) Modifications to existing harvesting equipment to allow top bars.

Special note:
I have built prototypes of these hives and they are far simpler than it would seem.

My vision is to have this hive made in injection mold process but need someone to step forward and help with that process.

Getting ready

I spent all of the afternoon working on the new hives. The design is coming along nicely. I need build follower boards and the roof. All of the top bars are done. In all I have 135 top bars. I sure hope I get honey this year.

Blog Day 1

Just started this blog. I want to set a place for my adventures in bee keeping