Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => TOP BAR HIVES - WARRE HIVES - LONG HIVES => Topic started by: Baldursson on December 15, 2011, 06:35:26 pm
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Well Friday I am picking up my cypress lumber to build my 2 KTBH. I am using poplar for the top bars. They are going to be basically based on the golden mean hive but 4-5 ft in length.
I have 2 packages coming from Bee Weaver. A little concerned cause I have heard they can be hot. Oh well I will see what they have to teach me.
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If they are hot,pinch her majesty and requeen. problem solved ;)
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Or, just wear an extra layer of clothing and get in and out quick. The other bees in the area won't be picking on them. I had some extra friendly bees that were survivor bees and I loved them. I ended up selling them to a friend (he knew the were a tad mean) he likes them. They are beyond the 3 year mark without any treatments. Hot bees take care of themselves. Give me the gangster bees anyday.
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If you go true golden mean dimensions, a 4-5 foot hive will have bars that are too long, and combs that are on the big side. I wanted to do the same thing when I started, but ended up blowing off
golden mean dimensions as they related to length. So my present hives have 18" bars, and that seems to be perfect. Each comb of honey is around 6 or 7 lbs.
Adam
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I have a friend who also used those dimensions with really long bars. He lost a lot of combs in the heat... But, I don't know all your details. Good luck!