Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper

 

Make 

The Hive

 

The Hive 

Weatherproofing

Boiled Linseed Oil and beeswax, 20:1 ratio.

Heated in a double boiler arrangement to combine wax and oil:

And applied to the external surfaces of the woodenware:

I let the coating dry for a couple of days and rubbed in the excess with a cloth.  Several of the pieces above are on their second coat which was applied seven days after the initial treatment.  Everything smells of linseed oil.

Beekeeping Interview

Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese

Parts and Frame Assembly

Starting to assemble the bits and pieces of the Oscar hive.  The parts came in a couple of boxes with the sorting and assemble left as an exercise to the user.

Box o' parts:

Somewhat sorted onto the kitchen table:

Foundation cut into 2" strips:

Frame for honey reserve part of the Oscar hive, still needs the wedge attached:

Intent

The intent is to raise bees here in Connecticut for the purpose of having more bees here in Connecticut. That and the occasional bit of honey. I plan on establishing two hives this spring: one Kenyan Top Bar Hive (KTBH) and another, based on Oscar Perone's design, using standard Langstroth components.

KTBH:




Perone Hive: