Nuc box as an observation hive? Yes!

G'day everyone

So I'vebeen wanting an observation hive, as it was suggested to me that they are a great learning tool. I have been trying to find good plans for one, and there are some, but they are normally large indoor style like this or similar-

Or an Ulster type that is basically a 3 frame Nuc boc with a glass frame holding lid, like this-

There are heaps of other types too, I think the skys the limit with it to be honest. I know here in Australia it would have to be framed for legal reasons. The indoor type doesnt suit and I was considering the Ulster type but felt viewing is limited and I would like to have a minimum of a 5 frame box for the bottom and would lose all that activity. I knew it would most likely be in the back yard and so I decided that one of my already made boxes would suffice. I simply took a sheet of A4 sized acrylic I had and measured 10mm in from that and cut out 2 walls of the box. I then added simple pivot latches and dowl handles and screw the acrylic on the inside wall. I did have to order another sheet of acrylic since I only had one so that should be here soon. I will either use the box as a nuc still or I may make it a permanent mini colony. If I do Ill add a second box on top and do a similar thing.

Cheers

A beezy week!

Hi all!

This last week has been a busy one for the bees, firstly I spent my week building some nuc boxes. Yes I know I made a Nuc box out of a polystyrene fruit box but I really wanted something smaller, more manageable, strong and more universal. Plus I also wanted to get my hands dirty and build something, especially after finally discovering what I felt was the best plans to build them, incorporating simplicity, cost effectiveness, and of course, able to be built in metric for Australian materials. I went with the Coates plans, available online, but the issue is that it asks for 1/2 inch ply, we here in Australia can only get 12mm (metric) generally. I could have just used the imperial measurements on the 12mm ply but the issue is it would change the interior size of the box, and over all the bee space, so not only would the frames not fit, the bees wont use the frames effectively. So I went looking for metric conversions, I found only really one small source where a someone had converted all the measurements to size but didnt take into account the difference the 12mm ply will make on the internal measurements. Using Cut List Express I worked out all the new measurements and set up battle plan for the task ahead. It took my only 1 day over all to build them, what is great about these plans is you get 4 boxes from 1 sheet of 2400mm x 1200mm ply (12ft x 6ft). I intended to paint them with Taubmans exterior paint but Kristy (wife) grabbed the wrong colour, thinking it was white, it even looks white, well looks like something I dont want to say on here, but when painted it becomes clear. So I used enamel paint, which is great, but takes a lot longer to dry. I made some simple straps from scrap tie down strap material. I will also be donating one to my local club meeting raffle for all the help they have given me so far.

The other thing I did in the last week was my first inspection of the hive! It was a bit scary, I was a little overwhelmed so I tried to slow down and look well. I saw no sign of issues like disease, or invaders. Mild Small Hive Beetle (SHB) were present but the only trap installed using diatomaceous earth worked well. So I removed the first 2 frames from one side, going from pollen and nectar storage to more brood as I went in, I was surprised how much had changed. As I went along I worried I wouldn't find the Queen but I did on the 7th frame, she was beautiful, I put her in a cage and set her aside for marking. During this point I noticed a lot of activity out the front of the hive, and we all saw bees fighting, I picked up on the fact it was some other hive bees coming in to rob Hive Alpha. I decided to speed up, I checked the last frames and saw the brood fade off into nectar, I then got ready to mark the queen. I put her in the marking cage and got her to line up, painted her back yellow for the 2017 year and checked her over. I let her sit for a minute and then placed her back in the hive and close it up. It was then I wondered about adding the honey super, I went by the 80% brood rule and felt it was close enough, so quickly prepared that and also got some more traps organized. I used some more AJ traps, but this time trying oil and vinegar in those and DE in the floor traps. I placed on the queen excluder and honey super, while keeping an eye on how the girls treated the queen. All seemed well so I sealed it off and checked the robbing situation. That had all come to an end but the bees seemed fairly annoyed now, so I left them alone.

Later that day though I thought I would check them, Ive gotten use to a guard be checking me out but one hit me hard from 10ft away this time, I started to back up and wondered about getting my suit but it was too late, she went behind me and as I turned she stung me on the under side of the arm...OUCH!

Other then that all has been good. next time I hope to show you my water supply for the bees and what I have done for it.

Cheers

Beeyard Bench.

Thought I would do a quick blog to show you this little bench I built for inspecting and such of the hives. Basically followed what Bill does on his youtube vlog, here's the link to that video, follow his links from there! Differences are minor, I used 70x35mm for the wood all round, and being in Australia it also comes in metric so I used the main beams cut to 1200mm, the rest is the same in imperial.

Cheers

We have bees!

So last night the family and I went to go pick up and bring home our first hive from its nuc install site. All seemed well, and we drove them home and placed straight onto their new location. Since its 41°c here yesterday they didnt take long to start bearding outside the entrance. I followed the local clubs idea of raising the bees to 30cm off the ground to get away from the cane toads but they were sitting under the hive in minutes waiting for them to get low enough or fall to their open mouths. I am going to get 2 more blocks and raise them to around 50cm off the ground to be sure they cant get them. Here is the finished entrance vent I used, it was ok but I think ill go another type I made which used a length of plastic queen excluder and fly mesh.

I woke up early this morning so I could watch the bees activity and watch them do their orientation flights. They have been doing that for a couple of hours now and becoming more active. Today is supposed to reach 43° so I will have to see how they go. They get morning sun until around 10 and then shade the rest of the day in summer, which is what is recommended for my local area.

I have called this Queen, Queen Selene, of hive Alpha.
Here are some photos of them doing their thing.

Cheers

DIY Transport hive entrance vent.

Ive been wondering since I dropped off my hive to have my nuc installed into my hive the best way to seal the hive off for the return home. It will be in my Ford Falcon wagon so the bees will need to be well and truly locked in well. I thought of a simple stick across the entrance, I have plenty of 18x18mm lengths laying around from another project, but obviously that could be bad and would seal the hive completely with no air for what maybe an hours drive. I then thought of just taping fly screen mesh over the entrance with masking tape, easy problem solved I have plenty of that lying around from snake enclosure vents I make. But my mind kept running, what about an easier, cleaner looking faster way to do it that's a bit more universal? Then it clicked, I can make a frame for the fly screen mesh out of the 18mm lengths. I realized the bottom length would have to be left out as it would obviously cover the entrance, so I figured if I cut the mesh bigger then the frame it could fold out and be held down by a single piece of tape. So here it is:

 The frame is made from the lengths cut to just longer the they entrance, then 2x 30mm long pieces are cut for the downward pieces and nailed together with just some hive frame nails. The mesh is then stapled onto the back and toward the front.

Ive been thinking while typing this to make a bottom piece to the frame at 90 degrees to eliminate the need for tape as well. Screws are used in the same spots on all the vents to make it easy to remove from one hive to another.

Cheers

Welcome!

Welcome to my beekeeping blog! My name is Wayne Clark and I am a newbee beekeeper, I wanted to make a blog (my first one) to document my journey as a learn and grow in the world of bees.

Firstly a little about me, I am a photographer and stay at home dad. I have qualifications in IT and construction. I have a beautiful wife Kristy who is a Veterinary Nurse and an amazing little girl Kaitlyn who is about to turn 10. My other hobbies include and have included, RC models, Archery and fishing. I also own a 1955 Morris Minor convertible that has been getting restored for the last 18 months and belong to the Morris Car Group of Ipswich.

So what got me started in bees? Well to start, when I grew up around SE Queensland I always saw and took notice of bees, both European honey bees and Native Sugarbag bees. I split time up on properties closer to Brisbane and Aratula/Boonah in my earlier child hood before moving to Ipswich. I live only 100 meters from an abandoned coal mine that is now a giant bush acreage, we had clover flowers and bees everywhere here also, but in recent years noticed the bee population become pretty much non existent, with only the odd bee going near our lavender plants. The media then also come on board with the obvious implications that had been discovered by their decline. In the last 2 years or so I had been thinking about what I could do to take part in helping our bee friends, I was thinking of just keeping natives and setting up homes for native solitary bees. It was in January during the holiday break that the family went to the Buderim Ginger Factory in Yandina, there they have a display the and show on bees, both honey and native. I spoke to the host of the show (sorry forgot his name), he suggested a book and where to go. It made up my mind, within the week I had my hive on its way.

So I contacted IWMBA club, have joined them, I also ordered a complete starters packack from iWoohoo Beekeeping in Sydney. Why I went with theres was mostly price, I looked at the quality, and felt that for the little it lacked in looks it was still well in price, 2 solid deep 10 frame boxes, lid, 20 frames, wire, foundation, suit, hive tool, smoker, wiring eyes, bee brush and wiring hardware. I do get my other gear though from Quality Beekeeping at Sumner Park (www.qualitybeekeepingsupplies.com..au). I then went on the look out for a nuc, I could have gone through the club but it may have taken a while, but I found one through the Flow Hive forums. Its being split checkerboarded so I keep my own frames. Hopefully they will be home in a week! heres how they started on night 1 and a few days later.

The numbers are my HIN, the large A is for Alpha, Im going to be using Greek alphabet for my hive organization. Hive 1 and 2 will be Alpha and Omega, as in the one from the bible, not due to any real religious reasons, but it sounds good, and in a sense bees are like tiny gods. I have built and prepared hive Omega and it is awaiting a nuc as well.

While waiting for a nuc I planned my way to get native bees, I decided to DIY my own hive, based on the OATH native hive, with of course, some modifications.

It is made from 45mm pine, from an old water bed, the roof is an old microwave panel. It was painted with UV resistant enamel and then decorated by my daughter. A few changes since that photo is a tie down strap, a clear window ceiling for viewing when roof is removed, and a higher stand. It is now at a native beekeeper for having a hive of bees introduced into it.

I hope you come along and join me on my journey, I wish to learn as much as I can but keeping it as simple as possible. Next post I will try and show all my own DIY tools and items such as a nuc box, wiring jig, and foundation embedder.

Cheers

As Promised, some of my DIY haul!

So as promised, here are just some of the things I've made myself.
To start with a nuc/swarm box, made from a "broccoli box", which is basically just a fruit shop vegetable box. Its wide enough to accommodate 10 frames, and just was a matter of cutting our the blocks with a sharp knife.

The holes were cut with a heated rod, and used an old curtain rod for the supports. The entrance door is cut our from the front and then wrapped with electrical tape to make it tight when shut. I used 3 inch nails as a hinge point and a locking pin. I also used masking tape to be triple sure.

Bonsai wire used as a split pin to hold the dowling/curtain rod.
10 frames fit in comfortable, in here I'm going foundationless, just using simple wax starter strip and wires for comb support. The foam blocks come from the rear ventilation hole in the back of the box shown down below, they are used to keep the frames up tight against each other to stop moving during transport.

The rear ventilation is just a hole as stated above and a piece of fly screen cut to size and tapped on. I also used staples from a staple gun under the tape to be sure though.

Here is the wiring jig, sorry the photo is blurry, the clamps are bolted on under the board, 2 plates of mdf are to keep the frame level. On the right hand side the wire is held on with 2x 3inch nails and to keep it from unspooling a small nail to wrap the wire around it. Up from there are 2 dishes that are for holding the eyes used in the frame to protected the wood from the wire and tack nails to hold the wire on the frame, I use a separate dish to hold the wire cut offs. Tools in the center, more on them below. The container in the back holds all the nails and pieces to build and wire the frames.

The tools are a small peen or ball hammer for nailing the tacks down and frame nails, a broken precision screwdriver (broke making the first lot of frames) is there to tape down the eyes into the wholes in the frames and also hold the wire in place when being tightened. The pliers are to pull and leverage the wire to make it tighter, to stop it cutting and snapping the wire, I filed the tip down on the inside and outside edges to make it more rounded, so best to use cheaper pliers for this.

Ill show later how all this works and also my foundation embedding tool.

cheers