What's all this stuff in this box?

[Jim Strawn]

Today I'm visiting my wife's grandmother. She said she had a hive for me that her son gave her a while back. (If you read my other topic, you'll remember I'm so new to this I almost don't know the business end of a bee.) So she gave me the hive and I was successfully able to identify these parts: The floor, the hive body, nine frames, and the lid. There are some other parts, two sticks the same width as the entrance (cross-section looks like an "L"), and a couple of longer sticks, not quite as long as the length of the hive.

Here's my question, though. Each frame has what I'm guessing is foundation (never actually seen it before). It's flat but has hexagonal indentations. However, I've seen pictures of people just using starter strips and others that don't use anything. These foundation pieces are really bent up, some even broken. Is that normal? Should I use them, or just take them out of the frame? Should I cut them down to "starter width"?

Last question: The thing has a lid, but it doesn't have an inner lid. I'm thinking the bees will glue that lid to the hive and I'll never get it off if I use it. Should I manufacture an inner lid, or is it SOP just to use a single lid and pry it off for inspections?

Oh yeah, one more last question: The box is not painted but it looks like it's stained. Should I paint it before using it?

Thanks all!

[Sundance]

Sticks sound like entrance reducers to me.....

Foundation is likely to be brittle. If it is..... I'd toss it and start with new full sheets of small cell.

Paint the box.

Lid could be a migratory cover which would not have an inner cover. Prying is no big deal and it has to be done on inner covers as well. Bees glue everything.

Good luck

[iddee]

The sticks are the inner lid with the masonite missing. Lay them on the outer lip of the box and measure what size sheet you need to cut to make your inner lid, or look where you got the hive to see if you missed the rest of the lid.
Do not use the box without an inner lid. Use a piece of plywood or masonite with the angle pieces nailed to it to create a "cookie pan" shape 3/8 inch deep.

Paint the box with a light color or white exterior latex paint. At least two coats, I use three and sometimes four.


Buy new foundation...Starter strips do not work well alone, or for newbies. They work best between drawn comb and when an experienced eye can watch them closely.

Hang in there, Jim...You're coming along well.

[GeeBeeNC]

Starter strips do not work well . . . for newbies

Oh, no, I don't even have a year of experience yet. Does that mean I need to pull all that beautiful regressed comb from my hives and start over?

[iddee]

No, that means you need to play the lottery...You're on a winning streak.. :D

[PA Pete]

I wouldn't forego starter strips - just understand what you're getting yourself into. Benefits and drawbacks and all that. You can search here on "Starter Strips" as well as "Regression" to get some good background info, then decide what you want to do. smile.gif

[jim b]

I don't think it's a good idea to paint the inside of any box-just the outside.-j

Sorry- what's SOP?

[ May 07, 2006, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: jim b ]

[iddee]

Standard
Operating
Procedure

[SilverFox]

iddee; He is in Oregon it doesn't get quit as hot as it does down your way, I'd paint the boxes a darker color to compensate for the cooler weather, mine are a dark green and anothers are a dark brown. Rarely do I see white hives up here.
The white, IMHO, will reflect to much heat up here in the cooler Northwest. :D

[iddee]

OK

[SilverFox]

;) No offence intended. ;)
Why not use a hive with no inner cover??
I use none and have no noticeable problems. True the bees are right there when I inspect them, but other than that the cover also is used as an upper entrance, a gap runs the width of the hive and is 3/8th of an inch high, when I slide my covers back it closes the upper entrance.
:D Again what works for one may not work for all. :D

[ May 07, 2006, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: SilverFox ]

[Jim Strawn]

Hey all,

I just drafted up a lengthy reply to everything, but it was lost in an unfortunate server-side error. Ugh. Anyway, the long and the short of it follow:
* I'll have grandma look for more parts. I picked up the box, but I don't really know all I'm looking for yet, so I could have missed the inner lid.
* I met a friend at church yesterday who is a beekeeper (known him for a few months but didn't know that until yesterday). He says he paints his boxes on the outside only. I think you and he are on the same track, Silver.
* Saturday evening my other beekeeper friend (who told me how to hive the swarm) gave me another hive body to go with Grandma's hive. Odd thing is, it's about an inch shorter than the other hive. However, all its frames have nice and straight foundation, some with comb already started on it. Should I break off that comb before using them?
* Another kind providence: my friend at church told me of a local supplier from whom I can get new foundation for those older frames. So I'm tossing the bent, brittle, and broken foundation, and might even just order a bunch of new frames as well. (What's the piano wire on the older frames supposed to do?)

Thanks all for your help!!!

[iddee]

Silverfox, none taken..I agree completely. Beekeeping varies with so many things, there are no hardset rules. Even in a given area there will be differences. In totally different climates it will be a totally different ballgame.

Jim, the 4 sticks you have make a "picture frame" for the inner lid. All you need is the center board or boards corresponding to the "picture". As for the different size boxes, I would go with the one measureing 9 1/2 inches tall. It is the standard Langstroth hive and will be easier to find aditions and replacrments for. Also, as you found out with Silverfox and I, keekeeping is never the same with 2 areas or 2 beeks. You read from all and digest what works best for you. Don't worry, the bees are very forgiving.

[Jim Strawn]

Well, the bees are still in a big, hollow box, so we'll see how forgiving they are when I put them in one cramped up with frames! :D I'm sure they'll do fine. Okay, I hope they'll do fine. Alright, it's all about prayer...

Anyway, I think I can picture the picture frame for the inner lid, but I'm too lazy and warm here in the house to go down to the shop and put the pieces together to confirm. However, I get the idea, and I'll probably cut a piece of wall pannelling to fit the frame. Does the inner lid need a hole in the top or anything? I'll probably check with some plans to see how it's supposed to be done.

"Beek" is a funny word. I'm a computer geek for a living. Should I start calling myself a "Ceek"? :D

[iddee]

The hole is useful. I would put it in. The paneling will work.

How about a geeky beek. :confused:

[carbide]

* I met a friend at church yesterday who is a beekeeper (known him for a few months but didn't know that until yesterday). He says he paints his boxes on the outside only. I think you and he are on the same track, Silver.
I think you'll find that most every beek will tell you not to paint the inside of the hive. The only exception to this would most likely be the hive bottom. I like to paint both the outside and the inside of the bottom since both surfaces are subjected to a lot of moisture from time to time.

[ScadsOBees]

I know it will come in time, but I'd recommend stopping by the library and seeing if you can get some beekeeping books. This forum is awesome, but it is nice to have a book around with alot of answers that you can peruse at your leisure.

You can use or not use inner covers, it just makes the telescoping cover harder but not impossible to remove. I just use 1/4 luan ply for the inner cover with hole in the middle. Don't paint the inside, the bees will seal that with propolis.

I don't think the bees will mind about the new box, but if they've been in a big hollow box for any amount of time, you will probably need empty frames so that you can tie or rubber band the combs they made into. And they may not be to happy to have to move.

I'm a meek beek geek. And sometimes sneek.