Having passed through my five frame nuc box phase, my winebox phase, my Styrofoam fish box phase, my packing crate phase, my eight frame phase....I am now trying to get back to the basics. My goals this year are:
Make no superfluous equipment. I have enough five frame nuc boxes and they are to small for bait hives, but work adequately.
Make traps big enough to include some foundation to draw to eliminate the need to service soon after catching, and use a swarm's ability to draw comb.
Make them bee tight, for easy no beesuit moving.
Make them bee tight enough that my non beekeeper friend can move them.
Make them light enough that I can move them.
Make them a good value for expanding my apiary with minimal specialized investment.
Make them the same green color that makes Charlie B sick to his stomach.:thumbsup::lpf:
All of this years models are made from budget grade deep boxes. Model # 1 has a steel entrance disk for easy closure. It has a 1/4" thick luan top and bottom to minimize it's weight. The bottoms are screwed on, the tops will probably be also, but duct tape or straps might be used on other models. I will probably transfer the bees into plain boxes, but I can easily remove the bottoms and just place the box on a bottom with a good top. The inside will get an area treated with a slurry of wax, propolis and LGO spread around with my heat gun or painted on from a hot pot full of brew. Stay tuned for Model 2 and 3.
Make no superfluous equipment. I have enough five frame nuc boxes and they are to small for bait hives, but work adequately.
Make traps big enough to include some foundation to draw to eliminate the need to service soon after catching, and use a swarm's ability to draw comb.
Make them bee tight, for easy no beesuit moving.
Make them bee tight enough that my non beekeeper friend can move them.
Make them light enough that I can move them.
Make them a good value for expanding my apiary with minimal specialized investment.
Make them the same green color that makes Charlie B sick to his stomach.:thumbsup::lpf:
All of this years models are made from budget grade deep boxes. Model # 1 has a steel entrance disk for easy closure. It has a 1/4" thick luan top and bottom to minimize it's weight. The bottoms are screwed on, the tops will probably be also, but duct tape or straps might be used on other models. I will probably transfer the bees into plain boxes, but I can easily remove the bottoms and just place the box on a bottom with a good top. The inside will get an area treated with a slurry of wax, propolis and LGO spread around with my heat gun or painted on from a hot pot full of brew. Stay tuned for Model 2 and 3.