Adventures in Natural Beekeeping

In anticipation of the wet stormy weather that the Oregon Coast is known for, I closed up some gaps on the log hive with a bicycle inner tube.

Bee Beard gets a headband to protect against the cold winter winds.

Bee Beard with headband as seen from side

Bee Beard as seen through the observation window 10-8-12. Bee-built tunnels provide access to the honey.

The large number of unfilled cells is a concern, but the bees are still packing pollen, so hopefully they will get filled with something.

This truck inner tube covers the gaps in the ‘wood plug’ that covers the observation window. It’s removable so I’ll be able to look through the window from time to time.

This log hive has exceeded my expectations for the summer.  It has built up fast, didn’t swarm like my hive last year, (swarmed two months after I got it), and has out performed the Warre hive even though I got it going about the same time.  Now for the real test…will it make it through the winter?  I haven’t taken any honey from it, I’m not going to medicate or hang miticides, and I’m not going to feed it.  It came from a natural living tree hive and made it through the winter last year without intervention so I feel it has a good chance.  The only intervention I have given it is to peer through the window from time to time.  If I get a swarm from it next year, I’ll count it as a success.  Maybe I’ll have my next log hive set up in time.