My Modified People's Hive

I mentioned using a modification of the Warre "People's Hive" before.  Like  I said,  I don't think of my modifications as being improvements on Warre's design, simply things that make it easier for me to use in the circumstances I work in.  I know that it deviates from Warre's reasons for design otherwise, but circumstances dictate certain things for me.

The things I need to consider is that I don't have time to hand make every piece of the hive.   I don't have the money to pay someone to custom make everything either.   I need the hives to be mobile without destroying combs, so frames are required.  I prefer combs be individually inspectable because there are things we face today that Warre did not have to contend with in his place and time.

So, what I have come up with is to use a Langstroth style 5 frame deep nuc box with frames.

I use a simple board bottom with a lip that provides 3/8" entrance when boxes are set upon it.  One of these boxes provides an volume of 18.27 liters in volume, very similar to both Warre's design and the minimum space required for a successful nest as found by Dr. Seely.  Using Warre management, two boxes are used for the brood space, thus providing a total of 36.54 liters in volume for bees.

I have been using this setup for the last three years and have had colonies successfully overwinter in this size space for the whole three years, so I can say that I am pretty confident that it is enough space to successfully locate bees in.

I make a custom quilt box using vinyl window screen on the bottom to allow bees to propolize and control air flow.  I have found that using wood shavings work best in my experience in the quilt box over sawdust, paper-shreddings and other fillers.

The bees seem not to chew the screen and the shavings seem to allow the moisture/condensation to be absorbed without clumping.  The clumping is a problem because once "clumped" the sawdust or paper will then not absorb the moisture very well and allow it to drip back down onto the bees.  They also seem to begin to mold rapidly once clumping has begun.

With the shavings, especially with a proper roof that allows air flow,  I have not yet had problems with condensation or mold.

The roof is similar to Warre's design, except rectangular to fit over the boxes.  I have begun to screen the openings in the sides to keep mice and insects from trying to find a home up there though.  The shavings in the quilt box seem to be something they like.  However, cedar wood shavings do very well in the quilt box to repel many insects.

The really nice thing about using this setup is that I can be versatile with it.  I can use the same boxes for bait hives.  Splitting these hives in Spring is very easy also as I use the "One for you and one for me" system. 

Perhaps the most important thing I have earned about using Warre's methods is  how necessary it is to add your new boxes to the bottom in the Spring.  The main reason is because this is when the bees will be able to draw the most comb to store all the honey in.

I use mostly foundation-less frames so the bees really need that Spring build up if you are going to get any kind of a honey crop.  Depending on how big the colony is in Spring will tell you how many boxes you should be able to add.  This is discussed in detail in his book, "Beekeeping For All".

Depending on how quickly they draw the comb in the first new boxes in Spring, you may be able to get one or two more boxes added to the stack before they can't/won't draw wax anymore.

I've had as many as five boxes on the stack at harvest time, Warre and others have claimed as many as seven boxes.  With these boxes being rectangular, they tend not to stack as high without resembling the leaning tower of Pisa in windy weather.   I will use garden fence posts on either side of the hive to help keep it from blowing over.

Nice features of using this hive is that the boxes are much lighter than full Lang boxes full of honey.  If you have a bad back, this goes a long way to making honey harvesting a lot more practical.

Also, because they don't have to hold as much weight in them, building these is no more complicated than a good, old fashioned butt joint assembly.  Just make sure to paint them really well because of the board ends being exposed to the elements.

I have been toying with the idea of making the boxes out of 2 by wood boards, but over the past three years,  I have discovered that due to the size of the boxes, the bees keep them much warmer with less labor than larger boxes.  I haven't even needed to use wraps on the nuc boxes where the 8 frame hives needed them in my opinion.

I think that bee populations fill out the smaller hives much better, allowing them to defend the hives and maintain them on their own better.  I have yet to find wax moths in one of these hives.   I have found some small hive beetle all trapped at the top, but never larvae in the combs.

As I mentioned earlier,  I need these to be mobile.  I use these hive boxes as part of my business where as a pest control professional,  I get calls to collect bee swarms and do live removals from buildings.   I use them to do trap-outs as well.  Once the bees decide to start drawing comb (trap-out) or I have to place cut out combs in the hive, the beauty of having full frames in the hives is un-beatable.

This is fast becoming my preferred hive over all others.  Even over htbh's and I love those too, mostly for how much fun they are.