Alternative Warré hTBH

Last Sunday we held a very successful training day on the management of horizontal Top Bar Hives and our thanks go to Gareth John for sharing his extensive knowledge.

Gareth John's
hTBH training session
(click any picture to enlarge)

Those present learned how to inspect a neglected hTBH hive and how to perform a split. The hive used for the training was a biobees style Kenyan hTBH.

The need for a new hTBH

At the wash-up session at the end of the training the discussion turned to adaptations to the hive design to minimise the problems encountered when working with horizontal hives. Whilst no absolute conclusions were reached the group agreed that the straight sided Tanzanian hive offered less problems than the angled catenary shaped Kenyan hive.

In addition, because at YABeeP we err on the more natural side of 'natural beekeeping', we generally favour the Warré hive over the hTBH because of its minimising disturbance on the bees. One benefit of the hTBH is the ease with which splits can be made to raise further colonies. However, because of it's size and shape, splits raised from a Kenyan hTBH with a wider top and sloping sides cannot be easily transferred to a Warré. Garth reported that Quentin had been experimenting making a hTBH using Warré comb dimensions. This news provided one of those 'eureka' moment for the group - why had we not thought of this before?

Typical Kenyan style hTBH (biobees
 model) note sloping sides resulting
in wide top bars - 430mm

Making a horizontal hive, using the Warré dimensions, would make usable breeding hives from which to make splits to go into Warré hives. It would also create a simpler to manage horizontal hive for those 'hands-on' beekeepers who like the horizontal style - in case you were not aware the surface area of Warré combs are a near match for the comb size on a Biobees hTBH which is probably the main hTBH of choice used in the UK. It

An additional bonus for a group like YABeeP would be that the frames/bars would then be interchangeable between hTBH and Warré hive types should emergency action be necessary e.g. providing emergency queens, etc.

The model
Fired by enthusiasm I have been experimenting with a design that would facilitate this and have arrived at this model which is simple and heap to make using the same seasoned untreated 25mm timber we used at the recent Warré hive building day.

This is not necessarily the best design, but it is simple to make, easier that the biobees model due to the 90 degree angles, and is constructed using glue & screw technology or glue & dowels for those non-metal converts.

The full 3D model of this hive can be viewed and downloaded here in Google Sketchup . (Google Sketchup is an excellent free 3d modelling programme which you an download here).

Showing roof and floor open

Roof and floor closed
(roof cover  omitted for clarity)

Note: Warré hive body dimensions

Width 300mm + (25mm x 2) / Depth 210mm + 25mm

presumes 25mm timber used

Standard Warré rebates
to hold top bars

Side bottom panels (shown in yellow) glued
 & screwed to provide bottom re-enforcement
and prevent sides warping

Version with windows
Left open; right closed
(click to enlarge)

Observations:

• Internal height/width = 210mm x 300mm - pp Warré design
• Length = variable as dictated by timber but a suggested minimum of 1,000mm
• Sides rebated 10mm x 10mm to hold Warré top bars (see below for info' on top bars for this hive)
• Top re-enforcing = 25mm x 40mm strip around top end/sides set 20mm below side walls. As well as re-enforcing to prevent warping this recess keeps rain out of top section and provides an anchor from which to hinge the lid.
• Bottom re-enforcing provided by 2 glued & screwed base pieces - shown in yellow in above illustration.
• Lid hinged to hive body - no lifting/storage required. Hinge stops provided by pieces of nylon strapping screwed one end to hive body the other end to lid.
• Follower board used as per other hTBHs
• Entrance holes in both ends plus centre and each end of non-opening side. Other than user selected entrance these are all plugged but provide alternative options. (Author suggests use of end rather than central entrances for less experienced beekeepers).
• Single 35mm entrance hole used rather than 2/3 smaller entrances at each point as bees naturally choose and control a single entrance.
• Opening base to give beekeeper access options in an emergency
• No varroa screen but varroa can be counted using hinged central floor piece - an optional varroa tray and draw can be added below this base opening if required
• Space above top bars for insulation and storage.
• Requires less inspections as attached combs are more easily cut with a short straight side - especially if using half frame top bars - see below. This allows bees to naturally attach their comb to the hive sides so they an more easily control their hive atmosphere (Nestduftwärmebindung).

Half Frame Top Bars

The top bars used in a standard Warré hive provide both an anchor for the bees to build comb in that box plus a space to allow them to pass vertically from box to box. This hive however is operated horizontally so a different technique is required. 

The suggested solution is to use standard sized Warré top bars (W24mm x D10mm x L320mm) with comb guides - either a short vertical bar or a truncated triangle added below - see illustration below. As with other hTBHs this encourages the bees to build along the bar to prevent cross-combing. The 12mm space between each bar  is then filled with a 12mm shim - see the following illustrations.

This not only allows bars to be transferred to a standard Warré if you are making breeding splits, but it also allows more flexibility those choosing to operate this as a stand-alone hTBH as shim sizes can be varied to accommodate comb different width between brood and honey storage areas.

Top bars types
Left: with bar  - Centre: standard Warré - Right: with triangle

Showing top bars with shims (in yellow) between

Finally, Quentin & Gareth are also experimenting with half sided frames to their top bars to a) make them easier to remove without damaging comb and b) provide a more robust anchor for the new comb. Remember in the hTBH arrangement, unlike in a standard Warré, the combs are occasionally inspected and moved. New honey comb can prove weak and break under load, especially if cut or moved.

Their design provides dowels at each end as shown in Quentin's photos below. These dowels fit fairly tight to the sides of the hive so the bees can propilise them to the sides to control hive atmosphere. The beekeeper therefore needs to cut the propolis between the dowel and hive to free them. 

Sets of half sided Warré frames
(Picture © Quentin Jordan)

Dowels extend approx 135mm
(Picture © Quentin Jordan)

Quentin's version:

Quentin's version to
Warré's 300 x 210 dimentions
(Picture © Quentin Jordan)

(Picture © Quentin Jordan)

Quentin's even has a Warré style

roof & quilt box

(Picture © Quentin Jordan)

Simon's version:

Simon makes one as well!
(Picture © Simon Billett)

Now doesn't that look easier to make
than a Kenyan? Room for deep top bars as well.
(Picture © Simon Billett)

(Picture © Simon Billett)

© Robin Morris - YABeeP

Installing a Swarm

(click any photo to enlarge)
Shaking bees in.

Following our the recent Hive Building Day some have been lucky enough to get swarms - a few within a week!

Emma kindly sent me some photographs showing how they were installed into her new hive so rather than just add them to that page I thought that it would be useful to post this as a separate page showing the methods of installing bees.

Basically there are several methods for installing a swarm of bees.

Tip: Have you seen this series of 10 short videos by Prof. Tom Seeley on swarm behaviour? 

Shaking them in

Walking them in - 1
The ramp is prepared

The easiest though less gentle method is to shake or tap them straight into their new hive. To do this hold the  upturned swarm container above the hive and sharply shake it or give it a hard tap to dislodge the bees - see the 'Walking Them In' video at the foot of this page which shows shaking and taping. If you are using this method please put some cut long grass in the bottom of your hive to soften the fall when the clump of bees falls onto the hard surfaces of the hive - if you damage the Queen you're in trouble! The bees will later chew up the grass and expel it from the hive.

Walking them in - 2
Bees are shaken
onto cloth

If it is a horizontal hive then the roof is removed, enough bars to make a gap big enough for the bees (around six)  and the bees are shaken out through the gap into the hive by giving a hard knock on the base of the upturned swarm container which usually sufficient to dislodge them - the bulk of them will fall with a hard 'clump' into your hive. Then replace the top bars.

Walking them in - 3
The journey starts.

With a Warré hive you just remove the top box which has the hessian ceiling stuck down with flour paste, turn it upside down then shake the bees into that. Once the mass of bees have fallen in gently turn the box the right way and put it back on top of the hive stack - usually 2 boxes in total for a new swarm. Add a third box at the base of the stack after a week once they are fully settled.

Provided the Queen was in the bulk of bees which were initially shaken into the hive several worker bees should emerge at or outside the entrance and start fanning (see photo & video at foot of page) to summon all the stragglers. With either hive type you use you then need to put the swarm catching container, which will still have many bees in it, on its side by the hive entrance so they can walk in. By dusk they should all be inside.

Walking them in

Walking them in - 4
See them go!

With this method a temporary ramp is made leading up to the entrance of the hive (hTBH or Warré) using pieces of wood or similar to support a clean soft sheet. Bees will instinctively climb upwards and if the end of their climb meets a hole into a potential hive they will go in.

Once the ramp is ready the bees are then shaken out by turning their container upside down and sharply knocking the base of it to dislodge them onto the soft sheet. Their fall onto a sheet is far more gentle than onto a hard hive floor so there is less chance of damaging them.

Walking them in - 5
Going, going.

Over the next half hour or so you can observe the bees fanning to attract their sisters and slowly walking up into the hive - it's great to see. With this method you can sometimes see the Queen, but if you don't spot her individually you'll know she is there as a clump of bees will accompany her as she walks up.

Walking them in - 6
And don't forget
those stragglers!

My thanks to Emma for supplying the 'Walking them in' photos.

Drumming your bees inYou may also wish to read this post of the Warrébeekeeping Yahoo group about drumming to encourage your bees to walk up into their new hive - I've not tried it yet but it sounds worthy of a shot! If you do try, please let me know your results so they an be added here. - YABeeP@gmail.com.

The YABeeP Warré Way
Because both of the above methods involve disturbing the bees twice - once when they are knocked into the hive swarm box then again when they are transferred into their hive - we have developed a method for those with Warré hives to collect them in their final home. This is explained on this page. There are a few  advantages. The bees are installed into their final home at the swarm site so don't need to be moved again - any work they do comb building and propilysing whilst in the swarm capture box is not wasted effort. It also means that they can be collected from the swarm site by their new owner - the swarm catcher doesn't need to return a second time in the evening - they should always be removed at dusk or later to ensure that all the scout bees have returned.

Bees fanning to attract sisters.
They are wafting a pheromone signal into
the air saying 'come and join us girls'.

This method can only be used where top boxes have been left with the swarm collector.

© Robin Morris - YABeeP

2011 Hive Building Day

Friday's prep' work.

Our hero, Pete, in the foreground

Yet another great day's weather greeted this, our third annual hive building day, with glorious sunshine most of the day plus a reasonable breeze to clear the sawdust and help dry the glue.

The biggest event so far in our history we had 18 hives ordered with many more people building on the day

Shall I drill this arm?

Because of a problem with the order caused by a mix of a protracted recovery from my operation and a delay with the sawmill the timber (seasoned, untreated British Douglas Fir) only arrived the day before - luckily just after the Royal couple had tied the knot and got back to the Palace. The delay also meant that they were unable to pre-cut the timber into my specified lengths. I learned about this problem only a day or two in advance and consequently was going to cancel but was persuaded to go ahead by Ray who, along withPete came all the way up from Plymouth a the day before with all Pete's gear to get things ready for Saturday.

Mass production
in full swing

True to form Ray & Pete arrived on Friday just after the timber delivery and under Pete's direction (or should I say control - he was a hard task-master!) the 3 of us set about turning the 57 planks delivered into 300+ prefabricated Warré components. We worked from their lunchtime arrival into the evening and this paid off big time when everyone arrived on Saturday able to start construction right away.

Without Pete's tireless efforts both on the Friday and again all day on Saturday we would not have made the fantastic progress we did - basically completing 15 x 3 box Warrés complete with full Warré roofs, quilt boxes and sump floors - what an achievement. All thanks to Pete's tireless (and very patient) cutting to demand - in it's literal sense as some were most demanding!

Work spills onto the pavement

Thanks
Thanks must go to everyone - to those who brought biscuits, cake and drink to share, those who weren't building but came along to lend a hand, those who made tea and generally cheered us all on when things got a little tetchy. Too many to mention generally but I am sure that everyone would agree that we should specially single out Pete for his endless and tireless cutting to order without whom the day would not have happened and Jon who not only went out for more timber when needed but had done a load of work with his father the week before when we had expected to receive cut pieces which needed routing.

Injured man takes flack!
(Click any photo to enlarge)

I got the impression that everyone enjoyed themselves despite all the hard work and effort but feel free to post a comment if you disagree.

And Finally...

To all those who went away with hives don't forget to finish them off quickly - they may as well be out there in case a passing swarm is looking for a home!

To complete your hive you still need to:

• get that floured hessian cover over the top bee box
• hessian floor and fill the quilt box
• add top bars to the second and third boxes - if you can wait Kevin has kindly offered to make these which can be distributed at the next meeting
• add lifting handles

For how to do this  see this Finishing Touches to a Warré page.

All finished:
And now the pictures of the completed hives start to roll in. Send me yours and I'll add it here:

Kevin's hive - 2/5/11

Emma & Dave's entry.....

Fiona's - set up as a bait hive

Fiona's in situ

© Robin Morris - YABeeP