Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: leechmann on March 07, 2009, 05:06:09 pm

Title: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: leechmann on March 07, 2009, 05:06:09 pm
I have lots of questions, being new to this hobby. One of the things I am wondering about is the different colors of hive bodies. I see that some boxes are painted different types of light greens, pinks, yellows and tans. Is there a reason for this?

I am in the process of painting the boxes I have. I bought some white flat paint. Just curious, why do bee people use flat paint?

Thanks for your help.

Leechmann
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: thegolfpsycho on March 07, 2009, 05:12:51 pm
Whatever is in the cheap bin at the fred meyer works for me.  Ever notice where bees live?  THey don't care much, so why should you?  I prefer lighter colors to reflect ultraviolet in the heat of summer.
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: JP on March 07, 2009, 05:22:11 pm
Since you're in Mn you might consider going with darker shades that will help with heat retention in winter time.

Trees are natural places for bees to be and they're dark brown.

In warmer climates lighter colors are better so they don't retain as much heat. I use mixed medium shades from the oops isle at Home Depot.

Some people paint them colors that help them blend in if they're close to the city as to not draw attention.


...JP
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: the kid on March 07, 2009, 07:17:53 pm
 the color of that paint you have, in the pail, in the basement, will do just fine ..
 place the hive in the sun ,,  if you can have a wind break .. for the winter..
they will do a lot better in the sun then shade ,,, summer and winter ...
from what I've read,, puting the hive in the sun,, is more important then hive color...  less disease is my understanding .....
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: fermentedhiker on March 07, 2009, 08:24:36 pm
Using different colors within the same apiary can help reduce drifting by making it easier for the bees to tell the hives apart.
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: rast on March 07, 2009, 09:25:00 pm
 Down here in Fl. we use light colors due to the summer heat. That said, I have read studies that say that 4 hives, side by side, 18" apart, the outside hives will strengthen and the 2 inside hives will weaken due to worker bees going into the first hive they come to. Some say that different colors help reduce that, some say that some sort of a design on the front of the box helps combat that. A queen breeder near me uses that method, just slaps of different color paint in slashes, X's and O's. Most of the commercials that come in around me in the winter on 4 hive pallets are all the same color. Being a small beekeeper, mine are far enough apart I don't worry about it.
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: alfred on March 08, 2009, 01:04:22 am
I painted mine all sorts of bright colors for fun!
Alfred

(http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7148/dscf0696.th.jpg) (http://img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0696.jpg)
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: JP on March 08, 2009, 10:37:00 am
I painted mine all sorts of bright colors for fun!
Alfred

(http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7148/dscf0696.th.jpg) (http://img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0696.jpg)

Alfred, love the colors. You keep on stacking, you'll need a ladder to pull those supers.


...JP ;)
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Shawn on March 08, 2009, 03:58:07 pm
I have painted my first two white. The next hive that comes in Im leaving plain, no paint. We dont get much rain or snow here so it should weather ok.
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: MustbeeNuts on March 08, 2009, 04:27:54 pm
seems to me most of the offtint that I get at lowes is grey, seems that grey must be a hard color to match. So mine are grey. I was thinking about camo this year. LOL JK
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Cindi on March 08, 2009, 04:47:52 pm
Alfred, I would watch out for the bees cleansing and the clean laundry hanging out, smiling.  When I was reading the book "The ABC and XYZ..." the author talked about speaking to the neighbouring women to warn them when the hives would be starting their first cleansing flights and to be careful when putting out the clean white laundry on their clothesline.  Conjures up all kinds of thoughts here, smiling.  Have a wonderful and most beautifully awesome day, life, health.  Cindi
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Jim134 on March 08, 2009, 05:04:23 pm
Does anyone use preserve on the inside of there hive's? Take a look it the lasts 2 pictures. It is 100% pure sunflower or olive oil.


    http://www.beebehavior.com/natural_beekeeping.php


   BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :)
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: trapperbob on March 08, 2009, 05:05:45 pm
I buy all the mistint paint I can find when I go to wal-mart,home depot and lowes. Drives my wife crazy.The bees don,t mind and it looks interesting.
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Shawn on March 08, 2009, 05:17:04 pm
I dont paint the inside. Woops, I didnt read your post right. I thought you were syaing paint the inside. Sorry
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Cindi on March 08, 2009, 05:20:59 pm
Jim, I am of the firm belief that the insides of the hive should NOT be painted.  There is no need to paint.  The reason for painting hive bodies is to protect the outside of the boxes from the elements.  The inside of the box is ONLY exposed to the elements of the bees.

I look at the site that you had in the post.  The last two pictures that I saw were each of a hive body.  The author indicated that he painted the inside of these hive bodies with sunflower or olive oil, not paint.  That is what the pictures that I saw, maybe there were other pictures you were speaking of, but I saw two pictures of a hive body.

There is not a single need to paint the inside of a box of a hive, period.  Have a most wonderful and awesome day, life, health.  Cindi
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Jim134 on March 08, 2009, 06:02:05 pm
Yes the paint is 100%  sunflower oil or olive oil 2 coats

Alexander The Great Use olive oil to protect bridge's he soaked the wood in olive oil

   


             BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :) 
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: alfred on March 08, 2009, 06:54:15 pm
That's not laundry, they are Tibetan prayer flags  I have them all over my property.  I put some older worn out ones up around the enclosure to remind me not to wander into the electric fence! I'm not to bright that way.

Alfred
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Cindi on March 09, 2009, 01:12:04 pm
That's not laundry, they are Tibetan prayer flags  I have them all over my property.  I put some older worn out ones up around the enclosure to remind me not to wander into the electric fence! I'm not to bright that way.
Alfred

Alfred, oh no!!!    :(  :roll:  :)  :)  I am shocked and I fully apologize for that mistake, I am serious, and I hope to my lucky stars that you were not offended.  If I have offended you.....then please accept my fullest and deepest apology.  I really mean that.  I will look more closely at the picture.  I feel awful......

Now you have given me something else to learn about, and that is a wonderful and most awesome thing.

Can you take the time to tell me all about the Tibetan Prayer Flags?  It sounds like you may be a person that is involved with something very cool, a prayer flag, and I would more than certainly love to hear about this.  Can/will you talk about it to me (and others, I am sure others may be interested too).  I hope that this may not be a secret thing, like many parts of religions, where certain things may not be spoken about.  Curiosity never got this cat.....have that most wonderfully awesome and great day, life, health, love our lives we all live, love and share.  Cindi
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Cindi on March 09, 2009, 01:14:00 pm
I painted mine all sorts of bright colors for fun!
Alfred

(http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7148/dscf0696.th.jpg) (http://img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0696.jpg)

Alfred, I looked more closely at the flags.  I think it is a wonderful thing that you have done, and I don't doubt for a minute that hanging of these flags has placed some wonderful karma with your colonies, smiling that beautiful smile.  Cindi
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Sean Kelly on March 09, 2009, 01:46:46 pm
Does anyone use preserve on the inside of there hive's? Take a look it the lasts 2 pictures. It is 100% pure sunflower or olive oil.


    http://www.beebehavior.com/natural_beekeeping.php


   BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :)

The famous beekeeping author Keith Deleplane recommends using copper naphthenate in his books and videos so I set out to give it a try last year.
I used Copper Green which is a copper naphthenate product that's available at Home Depot.  It makes a big mess but it works like magic.  I highly recommend using heavy rubber dish gloves.  Here in the Pacific Northwest it rains a TON and is always damp all winter.  Inner covers and telescoping covers seem to absorb water and rot pretty quickly.  Used this stuff on these too and they still look like new.  The bees didn't mind Copper Green but make sure it's completely dry and soaked in before installing bees just to be safe.  The stuff takes a really long time to dry.  I had to bring my hive bodies inside the house since the weather wasn't dry enough for it to soak in which made the entire house smell like copper nap.
Another problem was painting over it.  Since it's really oily, latex paint has a hard time sticking to it.  And the weird green color bleeds through if you use white paint like I do.
Now this is not a paint.  I know painting the inside is not a good thing since it will not allow the wood to breathe.  This stuff will let the wood breathe and moisture control is the same as if it's not treated which is good for the bees.

Will I use copper naphthenate again?  I think I definitely will for Telescoping covers, migratory covers, inner covers, bottom boards, and hive stands.  I might do so for my deep hive bodies, but only on the inside since I will just paint the outside.  I do not recommend using copper naphthenate for honey supers since the supers are on your hive for a short while and are not exposed to the elements all year.  Plus your honey might take on the flavors of naphthenate which might be bad.

Sean Kelly
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Damonh on March 09, 2009, 02:58:16 pm
Just remember Copper naphthenate is used for a Wood Preservative, Insecticide, Fungicide, Dog and Cat Repellent.
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Sean Kelly on March 09, 2009, 03:15:07 pm
Just remember Copper naphthenate is used for a Wood Preservative, Insecticide, Fungicide, Dog and Cat Repellent.

Insecticide for wood boring insects.  If they eat the wood it kills them.  Bees don't eat wood.  It's so damp here, fungicide isn't a bad idea.  Isn't Nosema a fungus?

I don't want dogs and cats near my hives anyway.

Sean Kelly

Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: danno on March 09, 2009, 03:52:21 pm
I use many colors and mix them up.  I buy a gallon of white and paint a few. Next trip to town I have my friend at the hardware store give the remainder of the can a light tint and paint some more.  I can get about 4 or 5 different colors out of one can before its empty.  I also have about 30 boxes painted olive drab for one out yard that I really want to hide
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: alfred on March 09, 2009, 09:29:13 pm

Hi Cindi,
No I am not insulted at all.

   I just tried twice to post a long and detailed reply to you about the prayer flags and their meaning and uses. Both times I lost it when I tried to post. Bummer…. well here we go again third time is the charm.



(http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/4519/dscf0860e.th.jpg) (http://img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0860e.jpg)



What can I tell you about the prayer flags? … The first thing that I should say is that I am not a practicing Buddhist let alone a Tibetan Buddhist.  I am kind of an eclectic blend of Daoist, Buddhist, New Ager.  I grew up in Boulder Colorado which EVERYBODY knows is the New Age Fruitbat Capital of the known Universe. Boulder is the home of the Buddhist University Naropa where my wife received her masters degree. We both have been very influenced by Buddhist thought. I tend more toward Daoism because of the influence of the Daoist martial arts that I do. My wife has traveled in Tibet to Lhasa and to Mt Kailash. She and I are I guess what you would call big fans of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  So this is my basis of understanding you could probably find more accurate info on the internet.

     The flags are called “Wind Horses” or Lung Ta in Tibetan. They carry the prayers on the wind to the heavens. They are colored for the five elements: Earth is yellow, Ether is blue, Air is green, Fire is red, Water is white. This is a slightly different set of elements than the ones used by the Daoists by the way. They also have symbolic power animals on them the Lion, Tiger, Dragon and the Garuda a mythical bird. Tibetan Buddhism is rich with archetypal symbology.  Each time the wind blows and the flag flutters the prayer is resent to the heavens. They are left until they are blown to tatters.

    The flags are hung in sacred places and in places where one needs a prayer, like a dangerous mountain pass or after the pass for thanks. They are hung around homes for protection and health, at business for prosperity and anywhere for peace. They can be a general prayer or for something more specific. You can pray for an individual by printing their name on it. The flags are sort of a general luck charm and prayer to be used in almost any situation.

     I have mine because they make me happy and joyful. I find watching them flutter in the wind to be very meditative. They also help me to feel more grounded in my own spiritual path now that I live in Loveland where there aren’t  very many of us crazy martial art nut case, Daoist, Buddhist, New Age, Astrological, Eclectics with Pantheistic tendencies.


Alfred
Ps -  for the astrologers out there bees being the messengers that they are are of the sign Gemini and Gemini is also my natal sun sign!


It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.
Dalai Lama
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: slaphead on March 09, 2009, 09:31:41 pm
I let my kids decide on the color scheme.  One hive is pink and green (alternating boxes), the other blue and white.  They've become local "landmarks".

 :-D
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: tillie on March 10, 2009, 03:13:00 pm
Julia painted hers in a very educational way - at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve in Atlanta - where the two of us each have hives for hive inspection opportunities for Metro Atlanta Beekeepers:

(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k288/tillielin/juliashive.jpg)

Linda T in Atlanta
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Shawn on March 11, 2009, 11:47:49 am
Very nice Tillie!
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: alfred on March 11, 2009, 08:57:12 pm
I thought mine were fun.
That's real neat Tillie.

Alfred
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: the kid on April 19, 2009, 10:11:12 pm
  """"" I just tried twice to post a long and detailed reply to you about the prayer flags and their meaning and uses. Both times I lost it when I tried to post. Bummer…. well here we go again third time is the charm"""""""

this happens to me a lot ...  now before I hit post I hit "" copy  """ then I hit post ,, that way , if it does not post , all I have to do  is ""  paste  "" and not retype it  ...


  I never thought of  olive oil  for the hive bodies  ,, might have to give it a try
( I hate painting )
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Jim134 on April 19, 2009, 10:35:04 pm
You can dip your bee equipment in wax and rosin.


http://www.bushfarms.com/beesdipping.htm


BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :)
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: doak on April 19, 2009, 10:41:27 pm
I have some battle ship gray, white and Bull Frog Green. :roll: :)doak
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: tlynn on April 19, 2009, 11:42:19 pm

Hi Cindi,
No I am not insulted at all.

   I just tried twice to post a long and detailed reply to you about the prayer flags and their meaning and uses. Both times I lost it when I tried to post. Bummer…. well here we go again third time is the charm.



(http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/4519/dscf0860e.th.jpg) (http://img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0860e.jpg)



What can I tell you about the prayer flags? … The first thing that I should say is that I am not a practicing Buddhist let alone a Tibetan Buddhist.  I am kind of an eclectic blend of Daoist, Buddhist, New Ager.  I grew up in Boulder Colorado which EVERYBODY knows is the New Age Fruitbat Capital of the known Universe. Boulder is the home of the Buddhist University Naropa where my wife received her masters degree. We both have been very influenced by Buddhist thought. I tend more toward Daoism because of the influence of the Daoist martial arts that I do. My wife has traveled in Tibet to Lhasa and to Mt Kailash. She and I are I guess what you would call big fans of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  So this is my basis of understanding you could probably find more accurate info on the internet.

     The flags are called “Wind Horses” or Lung Ta in Tibetan. They carry the prayers on the wind to the heavens. They are colored for the five elements: Earth is yellow, Ether is blue, Air is green, Fire is red, Water is white. This is a slightly different set of elements than the ones used by the Daoists by the way. They also have symbolic power animals on them the Lion, Tiger, Dragon and the Garuda a mythical bird. Tibetan Buddhism is rich with archetypal symbology.  Each time the wind blows and the flag flutters the prayer is resent to the heavens. They are left until they are blown to tatters.

    The flags are hung in sacred places and in places where one needs a prayer, like a dangerous mountain pass or after the pass for thanks. They are hung around homes for protection and health, at business for prosperity and anywhere for peace. They can be a general prayer or for something more specific. You can pray for an individual by printing their name on it. The flags are sort of a general luck charm and prayer to be used in almost any situation.

     I have mine because they make me happy and joyful. I find watching them flutter in the wind to be very meditative. They also help me to feel more grounded in my own spiritual path now that I live in Loveland where there aren’t  very many of us crazy martial art nut case, Daoist, Buddhist, New Age, Astrological, Eclectics with Pantheistic tendencies.


Alfred
Ps -  for the astrologers out there bees being the messengers that they are are of the sign Gemini and Gemini is also my natal sun sign!


It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.
Dalai Lama


Right there with you Alfred.  I lived in Boulder for about 10 yrs.
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: Cindi on April 19, 2009, 11:49:49 pm
Alfred, oh brother!!!  I missed that beautiful and lengthy post that you made to me, on March 9, don't know how, but I did.  Thank you so much for taking the time to post such an intricate explanation of what these prayer flags are all about, and let me tell you, it was very interesting, informative and well written.  It must have annoyed you terribly to have lot that text two times, but the third time was a charm.  Thankyou, I acknowledge that you spent a lot of time on this.  Beautiful.  Have that most awesome and beautiful day, lovin' this life we all live and share, health.  Cindi
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: alfred on April 20, 2009, 11:48:16 am
 Thanks Cindi   :),

and to the kid,
 I have finally figured out that if I am writting anything more than a couple of sentences that I should do it in word first then copy it to the forum. This isn't the only place that I have had this happen. The problem is that sometimes you don't realize that you are going to go on a rant untill you are well into it and then it is hard to remember to move everything to word when you are on a roll. For instance right now if I am planning on writting much more I should probably move to word before I go too much further and risk losing it all. but I won't because I am about finished and so I figure that I will have no problem. Often now I will quickly copy all of the text just before I hit the post or the review button so that I don't loose it as well. So I think that I will do that before I move on.  ;)

Alfred

Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: alfred on April 20, 2009, 12:00:22 pm
Hey tlynn,

When were you in Boulder? Sounds like you were there long enough to have Chief Niwot's Curse.


Alfred
Title: Re: The color of the hive bodies
Post by: deerhunter on April 24, 2009, 11:36:39 am
My wife likes to paint so she paints pictures on the sides of the brood boxes from birds to our home.

I only have 1 box the bees don't like and every time I get in that box the bees try to sting me  :shock:

or at least that is what I tell my wife  :-D