Queen of the Sun

We went to a bee movie last week at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute:
Queen of the Sun - What are the Bees Telling Us? http://www.queenofthesun.com/
Take a look at the link, you'll get some idea of the content. Most of the information was familiar, but seeing film and closeups of so many things was a real eye opener. Also, some of the people they found were pretty strange. It starts with the woman you see in the pic on the website dancing, covered by bees! The director and the producer came on via Skype after the movie for a Q&A. They said she got about 15 stings dancing - that's why her upper lip is puffy. Pretty good concentration. If you want to see it, it's a crap shoot. They list the viewings on the website and they're all over the map.

Towards the end, I started thinking about the next hive. I've noticed that most keepers have more than one. They can be right next to each other and the bees figure out which one is theirs. I was thinking of doing that in the yard, next to the first one, but I saw an indoor hive a few weeks ago and realized I could put one on the porch. The entry would be 10 feet off the ground so there would be no interference.

I saw an indoor hive at the last Guild meeting a few weeks ago on the 3rd floor of a school. It was all glass/plexiglass. The entrance was a pipe that went through the wall to outside. The hive is sealed inside. It's for educational purposes for the students. A woman on the Guild board manages it. She says when she does maintenance, she puts on the full suit, shuts the door and opens a window. Any escapees just go out the window and back in the hive.

The back porch has screens in the summer and storm windows in the winter. It will be protected from moisture both because the porch has a roof and the hive will be well above ground. The first hive is in the wettest part of the yard. The word is that moisture is more of a problem for the bees than temperature.

I will be thinking about design. It will still be a form of Top Bar, but it will definitely have an observation window - I regret not doing it for the first one. The window needs a cover since the bees prefer darkness in the hive. The cover will be different since there is much less of a moisture issue.

The entrance(s) will be towards one end. Matt recommends that. I think the bees tend to work from one end to the other. In the 1st hive, they started building in the middle because of the entrances, I guess. When they're trying to get through the winter, they work their way through the honey supply. If they don't start at one end, they work their way to an end then are reluctant to skip over to the other end. Apparently, they prefer being warm to eating - not necessarily a good survival skill for the winter.

I'll have my fingers crossed about the 1st hive until late March. The bees have been out briefly when it's been warm enough, but it's getting too cold and they haven't been out for a while.

Next year, let the weeds grow for the bees when you can. Most of the top listings seem to be weeds; no idea why. However, they do like bee balm and lavender. There are lots of others; in case of doubt, plant things with flowers. I'll list more as I find them.