Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => TOP BAR HIVES - WARRE HIVES - LONG HIVES => Topic started by: beedad on May 13, 2009, 11:07:38 pm

Title: Micahel Bush
Post by: beedad on May 13, 2009, 11:07:38 pm
micahel, i was reading on your site and some of the comments you've left here.  and i was wondering on your top bar hives do you use a follower board?  i get the impression that you dont.  and if you dont i was wondering if you say were going to hive a package would you just dump them into the full hive and let them make do as they would if they were making a home in nature?  and if you dont do that i was wondering if anyone has.  im curious how a colony builds up if left to theyre own ways in a hive.  any input wound be much appreciated.
Title: Re: Micahel Bush
Post by: Grandma_DOG on May 13, 2009, 11:57:40 pm
When I dump a new swarm into a empty hive, the result seems to be the same.  They start building comb on the end near the entrance. (End entrance not middle entrance). I don't use follower boards.

-mt

micahel, i was reading on your site and some of the comments you've left here.  and i was wondering on your top bar hives do you use a follower board?  i get the impression that you dont.  and if you dont i was wondering if you say were going to hive a package would you just dump them into the full hive and let them make do as they would if they were making a home in nature?  and if you dont do that i was wondering if anyone has.  im curious how a colony builds up if left to theyre own ways in a hive.  any input wound be much appreciated.
Title: Re: Micahel Bush
Post by: beedad on May 14, 2009, 06:55:51 pm
so theres no problem with giving them to much room?  i know your not supposed to give the bee's to much room with a lang because they'll chimney.  obviously thats not really a problem with a top bar.  i was just wondering if to much room had any negative effects.
Title: Re: Micahel Bush
Post by: Grandma_DOG on May 14, 2009, 08:46:54 pm
so theres no problem with giving them to much room?  i know your not supposed to give the bee's to much room with a lang because they'll chimney.  obviously thats not really a problem with a top bar.  i was just wondering if to much room had any negative effects.

Well, I'm speaking for Texas where its hot summer and winter. We don't worry about winters, we don't have them in Central Texas.   But where winters are a problem, a follower board increases winter survival rate by shrinking the space they need to heat.
Title: Re: Micahel Bush
Post by: mtbe on May 15, 2009, 04:18:59 pm
Well, I'm speaking for Texas where its hot summer and winter. We don't worry about winters, we don't have them in Central Texas.   But where winters are a problem, a follower board increases winter survival rate by shrinking the space they need to heat.

Okay...now I'm confused.  This is the first I heard of this...not that it is wrong, because it does make sense.  Similar to a Langstoth hive in winter; take off the honey supers.  I do have a follower board, but after reading M. Bush's site more, and getting my hive established, I think I will remove it.

However, if you want to be 'natural', and after reading M. Bush's website, feeding honey in the winter is the way to go, not sugar (if you don't have to).  So, if you use the follower board to reduce space, where do you put all of the brood comb and honey comb?

Seems like one would leave it wide open for the bees to have access to the honey.  They don't get a seasonally reduced space in nature.
Title: Re: Micahel Bush
Post by: Grandma_DOG on May 15, 2009, 05:40:58 pm
I'm not saying put the board to cut off any combs, just empty space could make sense in Winter. Personally, I don't use them at all.


Well, I'm speaking for Texas where its hot summer and winter. We don't worry about winters, we don't have them in Central Texas.   But where winters are a problem, a follower board increases winter survival rate by shrinking the space they need to heat.

Okay...now I'm confused.  This is the first I heard of this...not that it is wrong, because it does make sense.  Similar to a Langstoth hive in winter; take off the honey supers.  I do have a follower board, but after reading M. Bush's site more, and getting my hive established, I think I will remove it.

However, if you want to be 'natural', and after reading M. Bush's website, feeding honey in the winter is the way to go, not sugar (if you don't have to).  So, if you use the follower board to reduce space, where do you put all of the brood comb and honey comb?

Seems like one would leave it wide open for the bees to have access to the honey.  They don't get a seasonally reduced space in nature.