Well, the old stand that my bee colonies were resting on was rotting away...it sort of slipped up on me. One day I got down on my hands and knees and had a look underneath the stand. It was leaning backwards and listing to the side. Oh dear. The great weight of the hives and the softness of the ground was beginning to shift things a bit. Steps had to be taken... A new system would have to be conceived and implemented. My Bride, my mate and I put our heads together and came up with some ideas...talked it out and decided on a construction...a design. It had to (1) be very sturdy to hold the enormous weight of the hives and honey supers and (2) the construction may not be anchored in the ground....it will need to stand on something solid. We measured, calculated and re-thought...then did it all again. Then went off to the building centre and bought the screws and three forms of wood. The old stand was built out of tropical wood, but this time impregnated pine would be used. The following morning my mate came by and we disappeared into the basement storage cell. Out came the bikes and I stalled them out in the garage in front of my auto. It was my mate's idea to have the leg posts come out a bit above the baseline so that the hive could not slide from side to side. Here is the prototype: I know the foto looks dark, but it wasn't really that dark --I'm afraid it is the quality of the my fone. Having said that, I think that you can see well enough how the prototype turned out. We finished two stands that day and then the third one a day later. We took the lot out to the lottie. First thing to do was, remove the old hardwood stand. The place was covered in snow, so it was going to be a challenge. As the old stand came out of the ground, I noticed the the wood that had been underground was rotted --no wonder it was sinking and listing !! We levelled the ground and placed some paving tiles down for the front legs of the stands to rest on...the back legs would rest on the existing standing area. The final result: And then from in front: In a couple of days, I will treat the bees for varroa mites. It will be a good work area. What a job this was...better to do in the winter than in the summer when the bees would be flying around.
Looks like a pro did it ! Excellent ! My neighbors in the next pasture have commercial bee hives ! Needless to say I never have a pollination problem in the garden ! When I sit outside in the spring and summer they are crawling all over me ! For some reason they like my hair ! Could be they are sniffing my hair spray ! Imagine a bunch of bees getting high on AquaNet !
Nice, sturdy construction Sjoerd and you have storage space underneath too which is a bonus. I really like the idea of the hives not sliding about. Looks like the perfect solution for your bees and the stands should last for a good few years.
MART-- Thanks so much, glad you like the looks of them. I wonder what Jane makes of them...her man is an architect, I believe she said. I'll bet his look even better. I had no idea that bees liked hairspray. I warn folks here not to wear much parfum if they go near my bees as the bees actually are irritated by it. They got into my Bride's hair and stung her one day after she had washed her hair and put some fragrances in it...from softener or maybe it was the shampoo itself. Anyway poor thing, I had to pluck those bees out while they were being mean. EILEEN-- I appreciate your nice comments. I don't like the idea of sliding hives either. The worst case scenario doesn't bear thinking about. They are indeed meant to be sturdy. My mate stood on one of them to show off. hahaha
Ordinarily bees will not sting unless you swat at them ! I put out chopped corn for our doves and wild birds and they love the corn dust ! The owner of the hives told me since corn is a starch and starch turns to sugar as you know,,it replicates the pollen that they can`t find in the winter ! They got into the corn bin once and even though I was in there daily with my hands and arms,, they never offered to sting ! We also have tons of wild bees ! No problem with them either !
Sjoerd, those are amazing stands--very sturdy, practical, and well-made. I showed the pictures to my husband and he said he thought he'd replicate them if we need to replace stands (you wouldn't believe how fast wood rots here in Texas!). He's an engineer and can be trusted to know good workmanship when he sees it, and he saw it in your stands.
Thank you CAYU--Thanks loads for your compliment. Here's hoping they will last awhile. MART--You are right about that ...when the bees are gathering they will not sting, like you said... unless you roughly molest them of course. I have never been stung by solitaire bees either. I have a little "hotel" for these...but the woodpecker waits until the holes are full, then comes by and chops into them with his bill. It frustrates me so much...he also found a way to remove the metal gauze guard that I placed to protect the cells. I think that I am the only person in the world that dislikes our woodpeckers, because of this. hahaha. JANE-- Thanks so much (and your man too) for the very complimentary words about the stands. I recall that you said that he was an engineer, so his complimentary words really mean a lot to me. None of us three that conceived the plan have any sort of engineering background...so we just thought this up, based on stability, easy access (not too low OR high...for me the correct height is 60 cm's) and safety (that the hive will not scoot away). We further made the things in such a way that I can place a little box in-between the stands. the little box is just a bit larger than a frame...so I can place the first two frames in that box to give me more working room to check the rest of the frames. It is nice to have the extra room with an eye on not mashing or damaging the bees as I take a frame out or place it back in--do you know what I mean?
