Remerciez-le!

Remerciez @Admin pour avoir partagé cet document gratuitement, de la manière la plus simple, en partageant sur les réseaux sociaux.

Hive Guide By Mike Alsop Nov/Dec 2009 Contents • Intro • Hive Parts • Hive summ

Hive Guide By Mike Alsop Nov/Dec 2009 Contents • Intro • Hive Parts • Hive summary • The National - 1920's • Deep National – 1946 revised 1960 • Top Bar Hive – (circa 2650 BC) • Dartington - 1975 • WBC – 1890 • Smith – post 1920 • Commercial – 1960's • Modified Dadant (MD) - 1917 • Langstroth – 1850 • Langstroth Jumbo - 1905 • Warré hive - (? - 1951) • Rose Hive – post 2000 • Which hive is the right one for me? Intro Modern Beehives I have listed a lot of information here about the most common types of hives in the UK, the information is taken from several sources (see last page) but from a bee's perspective it really doesn't matter. Which then leaves you with a few choices of which hive would suit you best. All the hives listed apart from the Warré and Top Bar use frames and foundation. They are managed roughly the same over the course of a season. However I would recommend you use the same types as other bee keepers within your association and if possible start with two colonies in case one colony has a problem. Then once you understand more about the colony and its needs you may want to try an alternative hive. To some bee keepers its not the amount of honey or the size of the colony that matters, they believe there are many problems with the framed hives and conventional methods and it would be better to allow the bees to act as if they were in the wild, creating their own brood nests instead of being given a sheet of embossed wax held in a frame. You may well hear this said a few times. Ask a few bee keepers one question and will get back several different answers. If it was possible to ask a honey bee the question “What would she want?” I like to think her answer would be this simple. Some where dry and draft proof, free from disease and all other types of pests. Plenty of pollen and nectar to gather and of course lots of warm weather, so they can do what they are best at which is making honey. All modern 'framed' hives contain the same basic parts ---- Roof ---- Crown board ---- Super ---- Queen Excluder ---- Brood box ---- Floor ---- Entrance block The Floor or hive base is a vital piece of the hive, most floors are made from a solid sheet of wood to help contain the internal temperatures and help keep the frost out, more recently with the problems of condensation and the Varroa mite an optional open wire mesh floor can be used to help remove the unwanted mite from the hive. In addition the mesh provides additional ventilation which some say allows you to keep a narrower entrance fitted all year around which is easier for the bees to defend. A good size of mesh has holes of approx 4 mm large enough to allow the Varroa to fall through but small enough to keep the hive secure from unwanted pests. Entrance Block is fitted to reduce access to the hive during the winter time to help keep the warmth in and unwanted visitors out, during the spring and summer it can be removed when the colony is of a suitable size to defend a larger opening and thus gives the flying bee's easier access directly into the hive. The entrance block how ever should be refitted if the hive is being attacked by another colony or if the weather is poor for that time of season. The Brood Box is the largest box of the hive, this is where the queen lives all year round and lays her eggs, the colony will also store pollen, nectar and honey for themselves in this box so its within easy reach. The maximum colony size is determined by the size of this box which is different depending on the type of hive. During the spring through to summer when the colony size has suitably built up, bee keepers will commonly split the colony by removing some of the frames from the brood box which contain plenty of sealed brood, pollen and honey to start a new colony in another hive nearby, then replace the missing frames. This is one method to stop the colony from swarming. The Queen Excluder is either a thin sheet of either steel or plastic with slots or holes cut in it. The holes are big enough to allow a female bee through but too small to allow the slightly larger queen or drone through. This then allows additional boxes or supers to be placed above which will only be filled with honey as the queen is kept from laying in this area. The Super is the upper shallow box of frames for the bees to store excess honey, which the bee keeper will remove when its capped over and is ready to be extracted. When the weather has been favourable bee keepers will often stack 2,3 or even 4 supers on top of the brood box and queen excluder. The supers are removed at the end of the season to reduce the total space of the hive to just the brood box or boxes to help the bees keep warm. Crown Boards is a flat sheet of wood with a hole in the centre and are used primarily as a cover on top of the brood box. The board creates a barrier to separate the different boxes of the hive and can be fitted with a bee escape or used to support a feeder. The Roof some hives have either a plain felt or a metal sheet covered roof, they are a good weight to stop them being blown off in strong winds and also help to trap the warmth in the brood box for winter time. Hive Summary Hive Type Dimensions Brood box cells (Approx) Bee Space Brood Comb area of both sides Full Super Weight (Approx) No of Brood Frames (Brood Frame size) National 18 1/8” x 18 1/8” 460 mm x 460 mm 50000 Bottom 199 sq. in 25 lbs 11.36 Kgs 11 (14” x 8 1/2”) 356 mm x 216 mm Deep National 18 1/8” x 18 1/8” 460 mm x 460 mm 72000 Bottom 292 sq. in 25 lbs 11.36 Kgs 11 (14” x 12”) 356 mm x 305 mm Dartington 36 1/4” x 18 1/8” 920 mm x 460 mm 72000 Bottom 292 sq. in If top supers then same as National 11 (14” x 12”) 356 mm x 305 mm WBC 19 7/8” x 19 7/8” 505 mm x 505 mm 45000 Bottom 199 sq. in 25 lbs 11.36 Kgs 10 (14” x 8 1/2”) 356 mm x 216 mm Commercial 18 5/16” x 18 5/16” 465 mm x 465 mm 70500 Bottom 275 sq. in 25 lbs 11.36 Kgs 11 (16” x 10”) 407 mm x 254 mm Langstroth 20” x 16 1/4” 508 mm x 413 mm 61400 Top 272 sq. in 30 lbs 13.64 Kgs 10 (17 5/8” x 9 1/2”) 448 mm x 241 mm Smith 16 3/8” x 18 1/4” 416 mm x 463 mm 50000 Top 199 sq. in 25 lbs 11.36 Kgs 11 (14” x 8 1/2”) 356 mm x 216 mm Top Bar * 36 to 48” x 16 to 19” 914mm to 1219 mm x 407 mm to 482 mm Varies Bottom Varies * NA * NA * (varies per hive) Rose 18 1/8” x 18 1/8” 460mm x 460mm 35000 Bottom 175 sq. in 30 lbs 13.64 Kgs 11 (14” x 8 1/2”) 356 mm x 216 mm 190mm deep Dadant & Langstroth Jumbo 20” x 16 1/4” 508 mm x 413 mm 85000 Top 340 sq. in 40 lbs 18.18 Kgs 11 (17 5/8” x 11 1/4”) 448 mm x 286 mm * - The Top Bar and Warré hives are not made to pre-set sizes or managed in the same way using supers. Hives The National Hive 1920's The National Hive is the most popular hive in the UK. This then makes life easier for bee keepers to buy packages of bees on frames and exchange equipment with other bee keepers. Although some bee keepers think the national brood box is too small for a prolific queen. The supers are the smallest of all hives and so the weight of a full super is the lightest of all hives Frames The standard brood box is 8 7/8” deep and takes 11 frames. The most popular brood frames are the DN4 and the DN5. Both of which have the Hoffman side bars, which means the side bar is wider at the top and narrows towards the bottom. The DN5 has a wider and stronger top bar than the DN4. These frames are favoured because they are self-spacing and do not require any uploads/Geographie/ hive-guide.pdf