Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: WayneW on October 11, 2008, 09:25:36 am
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I am going to build a "long hive" over the winter, possibly 2.
I currently have 1 hive (2 story langstroth) which im not sure is going to survive the winter.
So my question is, when i buy bees to populate the long hive(s) how many should i aquire?
A long hive has alot of room, and thats my main reason for building it. To start this off strong would it be better to
add 2 packages per hive and one queen (or maybe even 3 packages)? Or should i buy nucs, and do a newspaper combine or
what method(s) would be best. I would think that a single nuc, or package would work, but numbers would likely take
a long time to build with all that room? :?
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From what I understand, most people start out with 1 package and restrict the room they have with a following board. The board keeps getting moved out farther as the bees draw comb and need more room.
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I have always thought of a "long hive" as an extended Langstroth, in which case I would start with a nuc and put the frames right into it. Or do you mean a top bar hive (TBH)? Is so, what I did was build it so that a Langstroth deep frame could be secured to the top bars. This way you don't set the bees back by making them start from scratch with no brood. I put 2 nucs in the TBH (one at each end with a dvider in the middle) and then either split them of join them.
(http://www.bushkillfarms.com/photos/d/389-3/100_0596.JPG)
Good luck, I gave up on TBH though, I found that the bees don't build horizontally as well as vertically and will get to a point and slow or stop building any further.
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One package is plenty. When the brood nest expansion starts to stall, move empty frames into the brood nest to get them to continue to spread the brood nest horizontally.
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Can you show us a pic of a "long hive" ?
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
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Thx for the advice.
@Jim 134 I cant show you a pic, as i have not yet built it, but if you google it, you'll find plenty.
Basically the hive will accept Dadant type Langstroth frames....... (i intend to modify mine somewhat to foundationless)
The lenght will be 48 inches (approx the size of 3 langstroth boxes).
Maybe i should have called it a "horizontal hive" :?
@ mike bush, what depth should i use for the main hive.......... medium or deep? I know you preferr mediums in langs due to lifting issues, but a horizontal hive wont be lifted, so is a deep brood chamber better? Or would medium be plenty, as the lenght of the hive would accommodate plenty of bees?
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May bee it will help you
www.drobbins.net/bee's/
look at pic of horizontal hive
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
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>mike bush, what depth should i use for the main hive.......... medium or deep?
I'd use whatever your standard frame is in the rest of your operation. Interchangability is a wonderful thing.
>I know you preferr mediums in langs due to lifting issues, but a horizontal hive wont be lifted, so is a deep brood chamber better?
A deep or a medium will work fine, in my experience. I can't get them in a deep to move much past 22 frames or so. With a medium they will fill about 33.
> Or would medium be plenty, as the lenght of the hive would accommodate plenty of bees?
Mine are all three box long mediums (33 frames, 48 3/4").