Let me guess, you are still bored…well, don’t have another drink…make a stingless-bee bee hive instead!!
This is the lumber list, I used hard-wood but since I’ll probably end up having something like 100 hives in the end, I’m probably going to change to something easier to work with…
- 2 pieces: 2 3/4″ X 1″ X 17 3/4″
- 2 pieces: 1″ X 1″ X 5 1/4″
- 2 pieces: 5 1/4″ X 1″ X 6 1/2″
- 1 piece: 2 3/4″ X 1″ X 5 1/4″
- 1 piece: 3 1/4″ X 1″ X 5 1/4″
- 1 piece: 5 1/4″ X 1″ X 5 1/4″
…which looks like this:
There is nothing magical about these measurements and they can vary according to the species of bees that are kept…bigger or smaller according to the natural colony size. Experiment, that’s half the fun (or spend hours on the internet to find out what the experts say, if that is your thing)!
Glue, screw, nail everything together so that it starts to look like this…
Then cut out the tops and bottoms to fit the two chambers.
Looks like so:
Again, put it together so that it looks like this:
Add the bottom board to hold everything together and drill a hole, say 3/8 to 1/2 inch at the front of the honey chamber and you are done…
The main point is that the hive can be broken down into a brood chamber, the tall squarish bit (which usually does not need to be messed around with) and a long flat bit, which acts as the honey and pollen store.
The design allows for the honey store to be removed, drained and returned into place without disturbing the brood chamber.
Make sure all the joints are tight to stop natural predators from getting in and upsetting the hive.
If you need more information, this is called a UTOB Hive…happy Googling…
Now go and find some stingless bees! Have fun!