My Carnolian tree hive

Alasgun

Loving the herd life
Joined
Jan 1, 2021
Messages
204
Reaction score
659
Points
163
Location
South Central Alaska
The tree hive wintered fine and they are quite active right now. This is my first experience with the Carnolians, as i’ve always used Italian‘s or Buckfast in the past.

A lot of study went into my hive body which emulates a large hollow tree section and is designed to be Bee friendly, not beekeeper friendly. I’d mentioned previously, i don’t intend to take any honey from them.

they started as a 4 lb package last spring and built enough comb on starter strips (no foundation) AND loaded it with sufficient stores to make it thru the Alaskan winter!

With this kind of activity, i’ll have to make another hive section before the middle of July!
the hive is 20 inch diameter and 24 inches tall.
 

Attachments

  • A71F2177-D75D-4630-AA5B-CE1B62B33262.jpeg
    A71F2177-D75D-4630-AA5B-CE1B62B33262.jpeg
    462.4 KB · Views: 217
  • C5EFE7C0-4483-4C0B-AB5E-CE89250D1E69.jpeg
    C5EFE7C0-4483-4C0B-AB5E-CE89250D1E69.jpeg
    651.9 KB · Views: 244

Beekissed

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
3,634
Reaction score
5,546
Points
453
Location
mountains of WV
I love this! I belong to a TF group on FB and there are a few guys on there with tree hives as well, which I find to be the most logical way to keep bees naturally. How does your state look into/ feel about hives they can't inspect properly? I've often wondered how the tree hives fit into that idea that all hives have to have the ability to pull frames and inspect the hive.

I'd love to have bees here and even built my own long TBH/Lang hybrid but could never attract a wild swarm to it, which is what I'd like to have....just a safe habitat for a local, wild swarm. No one keeping bees for miles around me, so all the bees I see here are feral looking~small, dark bees.

Then life took hold and I dropped the idea of bees until I get this farm established and the sheep project lined out.
 

Alasgun

Loving the herd life
Joined
Jan 1, 2021
Messages
204
Reaction score
659
Points
163
Location
South Central Alaska
@Beekissed , my efforts to cipher Alaskan beekeeping regulations turned up nothing of concern to me. there’s no mention of hive inspection and simply takes off “upon discovery” where upon they would boil or destroy your equipment.

no state’s regulations can “protect” against the many “wild hives” housed in attics, trees, the ground etc. etc. For me these guys simply play a required part in the natural order of things and pollinate my stuff along the way. They’re also quite mesmerizing to sit and watch and give me a lot of peace of mind watching them work as The Lord intended!

these hives are a kind of take off of the skep concept and it’s not that they are unable to be inspected, however along the way the hive combs would sustain some damage.
 
Last edited:

Field Bee

Overrun with beasties
Joined
Dec 27, 2020
Messages
50
Reaction score
91
Points
83
Location
Northern NY
@Beekissed , my efforts to cipher Alaskan beekeeping regulations turned up nothing of concern to me. there’s no mention of hive inspection and simply takes off “upon discovery” where upon they would boil or destroy your equipment.

no state’s regulations can “protect” against the many “wild hives” housed in attics, trees, the ground etc. etc. For me these guys simply play a required part in the natural order of things and pollinate my stuff along the way. They’re also quite mesmerizing to sit and watch and give me a lot of peace of mind watching them work as The Lord intended!

these hives are a kind of take off of the skep concept and it’s not that they are unable to be inspected, however along the way the hive combs would sustain some damage.
Beautiful hive, nice job! Like the "wild hives" in your post it tells you how adaptable bees truly are. They don't care about the cavity because no 2 are a like in the wild. As long as they have resources and are disease free they can thrive. When it comes to being able to inspect the hive it benefits you and the bees, you can catch issues like diseases, queen events and low stores. For some reason people seem to think invertebrates should care for themselves. I wouldn't keep chickens or my dog in a wild setting they wouldn't last very long.
 

Beekissed

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
3,634
Reaction score
5,546
Points
453
Location
mountains of WV
Keep reading @Field Bee and you may stumble onto enough information to change your mind about our part as “managers”!
I agree. I belong to a treatment free group on FB and have always felt that minimal interference is best when it comes to bees. So they die sometimes....as they do out in the wild as well. But, the stronger bees survive and those are the genetics I want to provide habitat for.

Love Michael Bush's website and books, even used to talk to him on a forum many years back and built my first TBH from one of his designs. He posts his inspection certificates over the years after he stopped treating for mites and it was quite revealing....each year the mite counts got less and less until they were nonexistent.

We can provide habitat, a safe and good bee box/hive and maybe check on them now and again, but I truly believe that too much management has resulted in incredibly weak bee genetics across the world, while breeding stronger, more resistant mites and diseases.
 
Last edited:
Top