11/28/2023 0 Comments Tree bee hive![]() ![]() Honey bees use caves, rock cavities, and hollow trees as natural nesting. ![]() Stone walls had recesses, called boles, to hold the skeps. Skep/tree beekeeping management included capturing swarms to populate cavities. Few beekeepers, certainly few in the Americas, have ever kept bees in a skep. I read that two holes allow an optimal air flow in winter, but I never have corroborated it. A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live. The iconic beehive, the skep, is widely represented as a beehive, even sometimes on our modern honey labels. I keep both holes open in winter and the bees do not propolize them- even partially. In retrospect, I find it more efficient to drill the bottom hole closer to the floor so that the bees can drag debris and other foreign material easily out, they prefer to use the top hole when foraging. When the hive is occupied, the bees will gradually cover the walls with protective propolis. A cavity is normally left open for a year to let the wood season. This leaves thick walls of at least 5 cm to insulate the hive. Two 1 inch holes at 1/3 of the top and 1/3 to the bottom of the chamber were drilled. The internal diameter of the hive is around 35 cm and has a volume of approximately 80-90 litres. The walls of the log are more or less 7 inches thick and the top and bottom insulation are about 22 inches deep. The top insulation is contained by an inner roof topped with a weather proof telescopic roof. The insulation is held together by a mesh at the bottom and the hive is set on bricks so air can circulate underneath- so no moisture accumulates. The insulation in contact with the ceiling and the roof is made of red cedar shaving 15 inches thick and topped with house insulation to save a bit on the weight. I finally ended up building it like a wooden floor with planks of rough cedar adjusted by trial and error and set onto internal beams with wooden pegs. The most delicate part was to cut the ceiling to fit closely to the inner shape of the logs. ![]()
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