THE WARRE BEE HIVE
The warre bee hive was my first hive to build when I started beekeeping in 2011.
Yes, this is what it looks like when there is tons of bee forage around.
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After using it for 5 years, I realized it was not a hive that I wanted to use the rest of my life. I am moving to a horizontal hive that is insulated - easy for me to manage and warm for the honeybees.
Here is a summary of the Warre bee hive qualities.
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ADVANTAGES:
It mimics a bee's lifestyle inside a tree trunk.
* Summer: bees comb down, brood down, and honey down.
* Winter: bees eat upwards and heat rises to soften food above the cluster.
* Quilt at top to absorb extra moisture that mimics the punky wood in the top of a
hive inside a tree trunk.
* Bees in a tight cluster with little air circulating around the cluster to cool them.
* Management can be less disruptive of the brood chamber if you have a hive lift.
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DISADVANTAGES:
1. It is cold for the bees. I had a dream that my bees were cold inside a hive built from 1.5" thick white cedar wood.
2. It is challenging to manage by myself completely independently without a hive lift.
You put new boxes under the brood cluster, which means you need to lift a few boxes. If you want to do this without disturbing the cluster, you need to lift several boxes at one time - with either a hive lift or another person.
3. Harvesting honey from the top of the hive requires a ladder and heavy lifting.
I prefer to keep my feet on the ground.
4. It is challenging to check the brood chamber as is on the bottom of the stack.
5. As the hive gets taller, it can be a bit tippy.
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Things I will continue to use in other hive designs:
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1. Hive Bases:
I liked having cement patio stones under a hive for these reasons:
* It keeps the weeds down so I don't have to be in front of bees to weed.
* Bees like a clean front to keep from attracting other critters to the hive.
* It is easier to see what is going on around the hive. For example, I often see balls of honeybee parts if skunks have been around the hives at night.
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2. Top bar cloth:
The top bar cloth sits on top of all the hive bodies. The honeybees will decide how much to propolize it, depending on desired temperature and humidity. I have made it out of down ticking cotton, doubled to two thicknesses (sewn together). When inspecting a hive, it is nice to keep this over the bees you are not inspecting as it keeps them calm.
3. Quilt:
The quilt is 4 inches deep with holes in the side of it. In winter, it is filled with wood shavings to absorb the moisture that honeybees give off while inside the hive. The idea is that the moist air moves upwards and condenses on the top of the wood shavings instead of condensing on top of the frames of honey. Wet bees are dead bees. The holes in the side of the quilt allow more air ventilation to occur. I now put mesh screen over the holes after millions of ants moved into the quilt for a home. In summer, the quilt is filled with Roxul insulation as ants do NOT survive well in it. The extra insulation in summer keeps the heat of summer off the bees and allows them to maintain hive temperatures easier.
