UV Paint and Hive visibility

[WesternWilson]

I will be placing some hives on local farm fields next season, and with the news of some troubling hive thefts in my mind, I am thinking of painting the hives in subtle colours that will not draw the human eye.

But in the interest of making the hives easy for the bees to see...are there paints that reflect in the UV spectrum (like flowers) that would show up brightly for the bees, but not to humans? It would be a way to dab on entry designs to guide bees home to the right hive.

Regards,
Janet

[sqkcrk]

I knew a guy in Ohio who painted his hives like Army Camoflauge. The bees didn't seem to mind from what I heard.

Putting them out of sight might be easier than painting them a color less noticeable to humans.

[ralittlefield]

If theft is a real concern, in addition to painting the hives, I would suggest marking the frames as well. That may discourage some from discarding your boxes and putting the frames in different equipment.

[jrbbees]

Brand your boxes and frames.

Also consider placing them on the stand without a bottom board or one with a hole in the bottom of it. Then if they pick it up in the dark they are surprised.

I also knew a guy who screwed his bottom boards to the wooden cross pieces of the stand from the inside of the hives. Used 4 deck screws 3 1/2" long. With 3 or 4 hives on each stand you can't pick them up without openning them and taking the screws out earlier in the day.

[WesternWilson]

Securing the bottom boards to the hive stand is a good idea...I like the Country Rubes setup but they are a bit more costly than simpler designs and I'd hate to lose them!