Splits, builds, new product designs…so many things going on! Finished two cedar hives, one is a customer hive and the other will be going to a couple shows. I made a pact with myself to try to never go to a bee conference/show without a cedar hive again. So now I have a cedar long lang sitting in the shop waiting for September when we have the Bee School in Bryan, TX, on September 14th. Then we have the Bee Alive Conference & Expo in Slidell, LA, from September 27th and 28th. Yes, we are headed out of state to our neighbors in Louisiana! Hopefully get a bit more exposure for our hive builds and 3d bee tools!
Hoping that we can get a vendor slot for the Bee Expo in Louisville, KY, in January 2025.
The splits in the long lang mating nuc worked out real well, at first. We had 5 of 6 queens come back mated but I did a poor job on adding enough brood to some of the splits AND the placement of the long hive was really bad. The hive beetles became a problem and I ended up losing all but two colonies.
Three more long hives were picked up yesterday…was getting a bit crowded in the shop! Currently working on two Layens 14 frame hives. One is a customer order but per usual it is always easiest to make two at the same time. Turns out I really need a few more Layens so this works out. For these hives I joined two 2x10s and then ran them through the big planer and you can barely see the seam! This is also the first time I have done half-laps on a Layens hive and I will never NOT do them again. It is a much cleaner look and I know it will hold up for a very long time. I am using the same insulated lid process with cross bracing to support the inner plywood…and yes, these Layens hives will have cover boards! Why? Because if you use a frame feeder there is always seems to be a bit of a gap to allow the bees to get into the lid area. With cover boards that will no longer be possible.
Two long hives are also in about the same build stage. They will be gabled roof longs.
Not shown in the pictures is a Layens hive that I am rebuilding the lid. Moved the colony into a 20 frame Layens and when I took this hive apart I found termites in the trim. I replaced all the bad trim and covered the entire outside of the box in epoxy. Definitely overkill for termites but they should not a problem again. Plus I will do a far better job of painting it this time.
Made a slight change to the small apimaye entrance disc. The little lip was meant to be a tiny roof but it is really too small to do any good. However, it does create extra leverage when you are turning the disc.
Been making war on small hive beetles lately. The beetle smasher is just far too much fun. Some squeamish non-beekeeper is probably rolling their eyes, but a real southern beekeeper knows exactly what I mean! A guy told me to design my own beetle traps that you can refill and would fit between the frames so I finished that. Then I learned a new technic on Fusion360 and knocked out the beetle box trap in far less time. These box traps can sit on the floor of a Layens or top bar hive! I have already started working on a short skinny trap that can sit between the top bar frames…we will see.
Also came up with some numbered entrance discs. Planning to post them up as a “1-10 pack” in different colors for people who want to numbers their hives. Will get the posted soon. I am not certain the hexagon entrance will ever be posted…have to see if there is any interest. Was just one of those weird ideas that pop into your head…. And yes, that happens a lot lately. I have a lot of ideas still to make, just need time and figure if there is enough interest in it. I have really been getting a thrill out of thinking up something and having a physical product in a matter of hours!
Thank you again to all of you people who have purchased things from my shop or purchased a hive! You really make this fun and worth all that extra time outside of my day job!
