Observation Hive - Summary

On Saturday it had been four days since the bees had been able to fly other than the few heroic bees who were able to navigate the tubing in the basement. The hive was getting pretty frantic with bees who needed to relieve themselves (they don't do that in the hive if at all possible) so I gave up on my basement plan and temporarily moved the hive outside so they would have a few hours of flight before the farmer's market on Sunday. I kept the hive near where the entrance was previously so the bees would be able to find their way home if they had previously learned the other location. The ladder with the burlap is to shade the hive from the direct sunlight to prevent overheating.

The farmer's market went great. The bees were the stars of the whole market and I got to spend five hours talking about honeybees. I also pointed people to the local beekeeping courses as well as the excellent scholarship for youth ages 12-17. I got the bees there in an interesting way, I basically wedged the hive up against some seats and kept it stationary by packing cardboard boxes in behind it. It worked well except for the one turn on the way back home when the hive slid off of the door rest and down a little too abruptly.

When I got back home I drilled a hole in our bedroom wall (carefully of course) and put the hive in its new place with the wife's permission. The brown dust is sawdust from the drilling, not the bees. The bees immediately flew out (and relieved themselves) as it had been many days since they had been outside of the hive. Within an hour they were feeling much better and I was also much happier.

By Monday the bees were collecting pollen, something I've seen many times before but I've never been able to appreciate it fully until seeing it up close. One of these bees is not like the other, one of these bees is not the same... That bright yellow is pollen! Go bees go!

To help others out there who are thinking of doing this here's what I did wrong:

1) Keep it straight. If you use clear tubing to connect the hive to the outdoors make sure the bees always go towards the light to get outside and away from the light to go home. Any bends or turns will prevent the bees from finding their way out. Even if you don't use clear tubing a straight path will be better.

2) Don't be tricky with your bee hole. If you, for example, drill out a few inches and then down a few inches to connect the bees to the outdoors with a 90° turn they will have trouble navigating the turn. They won't be able to see the sunlight from the tunnel and will have difficulty knowing which way to go.

3) Size does matter. You can go as small as 3/4" inner diameter for the tube but when the workers have to haul out a dead drone they'll get the tube clogged pretty easily. At least 1" inner diameter is what I'd recommend.

4) Don't fight an uphill battle. You can have your bees climb up or down on their way between the hive and the outdoors but if at all possible keep the slope less than 30° or so and avoid having the bees go uphill on the way out. They have to carry their trash out that way and frequently their trash weighs more than the bee carrying it! A level path is best but uphill when heading out is to be avoided.

5) Bees Buzz. If you're going to do something crazy like put a beehive in your bedroom be prepared for some loud buzzing at odd times, perhaps when you are trying to sleep. These sounds will reduce in volume and frequency as the bees adjust to their new home but it is unlikely they will ever remain completely quiet.

Now I have bees inside of my house.

The hive came together pretty easily, I think I've made a few mistakes that I'll have to work out as time passes. I think the bees will propolize the screen I used and I don't have an easy way to clean it. I also have fears that I won't be able to open the hive after it's had bees in it for a while! I added some petroleum jelly to the seams on one pane of glass so it would open easier after the bees attempt to glue to together. I wish I hadn't because it looks goopy but if it allows me to access the frames when I need to then it is probably worth it. The unexpected piece I came up with was how to ensure the tube connecting the bees to the outdoors stays in place. I ended up adding a screw which goes through one side of the tube to hold it in place.

The challenge I wasn't expecting was making all of this work in the house! I didn't plan on having the bees in the basement but that's where they ended up which meant that they have a ways to go to get outside, and a significant change in elevation. That's a problem for the bees, the farther they are from the outdoors the harder it will be to keep the hive going strong. A long entrance means that the bees leaving and coming home have a long way to crawl. It also makes it hard for a bee to tell which hole in their hive goes outside and which is just a vent for air.

The vertical change is also a problem, the insides of the tube are slick and the bees need to carry their garbage out through the tube. Since their garbage includes dead bees it can be quite difficult for a bee to carry another bee up a smooth vertical surface.

Here on the right is a picture of the hive in "dark mode". The bees prefer to be in the dark, it's what they're used to. When the hive isn't being observed for a while (or when it is being transported) I plan to put these solid panels in place. I also might be moving the hive from the top of a bookcase to the top of a little short table as needed, having it up high might make it easier for the bees to make their way outside and it will probably make it easier for little human hands to stay out of trouble.

And here to the left is a picture of the hive in "observation mode". It really came together nicely and it is very impressive with bees buzzing about inches from your fingers. To end with I've got a picture (taking pictures of small things behind glass is hard!) of the queen bee and some of her attendants in their new home.
I should probably add that queens don't normally have a spot of bright color on their backs, beekeepers add that so the queens are easier to find. I don't normally mark my queens but since this is a Carolinian queen she would be very hard to find for someone who isn't used to finding queens. I hope to show this hive to quite a few someones like that!

The observation hive is taking shape!

I've got the initial pieces cut for the observation hive. With these measurements I was able to get an exact size for the glass I need: 19 5/8" x 27 1/2".

I ended up going with pine and not oak like I had originally planned because I didn't want to make any expensive mistakes as I was putting it together. This is a first attempt, once I learn what there is to learn I'll make another out of oak and the tricks I learned along the way on this one.

True Value is awesome, I walked in and said I wanted some glass and they cut it right there! I was expecting to have to come back later to pick it up. A better option would be safety glass but I'll just be really careful with this. Plexiglass also works well but it can be harder to clean when the bees put wax on it.

A trip to Menards and I've got some hardboard to cover the glass with when it's not being observed (The bees prefer darkness). I've got a lot more to do but it's nice to be able to see it come together.

I said I'd bring an observation hive to the farmer's market...

So I told a friend of mine that I'll bring an observation hive to the local farmer's market at the end of this month.

The problem is, I don't have one! I've always wanted one so I'm taking this opportunity to finally do it. I'm on a tight schedule but failure is not an option!

I started with the plans from beesource.com (I love their forums) and made some modifications. I decided to use medium frames and since 3 mediums equals 2 deeps that makes it a four frame observation hive. I've got a table saw and a hand router so this is doable, right?

I talked to a local queen producer and ordered up three queens (I want to overwinter some nucleus hives for the spring) which will be ready a week before the farmer's market. That means my goal is to have the hive stained and aired out two days before the bees arrive. It's a lot to do but I'll enjoy doing it!