Warré People’s Hive

More comments relating to the article Warré People’s hive in Nigeria (BfDJ105) and discussion in BfDJ106

Gerhard Pape says nine bars in preference to eight. True it can be done, but the bees need a 12 mm space between combs to enable them to pass each other back to back when on adjacent combs.

A pupae only needs 6 mm of comb depth to grow and emerge, but the bees increase this to 12 mm when using it for storing honey, Therefore the width of a whole comb (front and back) is 24 mm when full of honey.

So what do the bees need as a minimum? Well a bee space either side of a full comb of 12 mm. The full honey comb is 24 mm. Warré recommends top-bars 24 mm wide and 12 mm apart, which is the minimum the bees need for honeycomb and bee space.

Therefore, eight top-bars 24 mm wide in a 300 mm square hive give spacing of 12 mm between each bar, and 12 mm between the end bars and the hive wall. Therefore using eight bars, 24 mm wide is correct, not nine.

I also disagree with the loss of the quilt and top-bar cloth: even here in the UK a strong colony will produce a fair amount of warm water vapour. Some of this vapour rises THROUGH the permeable top cloth (not plastic) and into the quilt. It permeates the quilt material (straw/shavings/hay) and condenses on the mouse board. It can then drip back on to the quilt, but will only dampen the top centimetre or so, the rest of the filling remains dry.

This aids the circulation of the atmosphere in the hive whilst retaining the nest scent and heat. A further advantage of having a quilt is to reduce the temperature fluctuations in the hive as it helps to insulate the top of the hive from temperature extremes both hot and cold. The quilt filler is an insulator so the high temperatures are lower, and the low temperatures are higher, than if no quilt is present.

Thus it is easier for the bees - and less work, so less consumption of nectar/honey - to maintain the temperatures they need inside the hive.

In addition, the design of Warré People’s hive double sloping roof aids in this process by first reflecting high radiant heat if painted in white gloss or other pale colour. Also, the cavity immediately below the sloping roof acts to circulate air: cooler air comes in at the side and leaves warmer through the top vents, thus reducing the amount of heat reaching the quilt.

Regarding frames, my personal view is that they interfere with the pheromone distribution in the hive and create too many spaces around the walls which affect air circulation. Hence in many framed hives the bees build bridge comb to stop this free circulation of air.

Research has shown that bees use vibrations for communication and that the frames dampen these communication channels. Again beekeepers using frames have found holes in the frame used as the dance floor, because the bees need the holes in framed comb to get the right acoustics for their messaging system.

If bees needed frames they would have invented them themselves: it is only humans that want them for their own convenience. Humans have caused enough damage to wildlife in their short period on earth and it is time to partially redress that effect.

For a small inconvenience let the bees have what they want. ‘Manage’ them on a box by box basis. I have had Warré People’s hives for three years now, and would not change anything about Warré’s original design and methods. I know a few people have. A recent visit by the bee inspector revealed NO disease, virus or Varroa (I do not treat for Varroa). The only ‘treatment’ I use is to put two kilograms of candy on the hive in winter, laced with ONE drop of each essential oil of peppermint and lemon grass. Similarly if I need to feed in spring (I did in 2013) for each two kilograms of syrup I use the same ‘treatment’ ie ONE drop of each of the above – that is it.

The other big plus for the bees is that they do not get disturbed at all (apart from the inspector’s visit) until honey gathering time (September, or spring if reserves are low). I also allow them to swarm naturally.

The inspector must have been impressed. It was the first time he had seen a Warré People’s hive and how it operated. He ended up taking a spare one I had for his own apiary.

You do not have to be an expert on bees to use these methods and let the bees get on with it. Just keep an eye on the entrance for unusual activity or deaths. Only then it may be time to act.

John S Bell, Lytham St Annes, UK

Advice and further information is available at

www.bee-friendly.co.uk

www.naturalbeekeepingtrust.org

www.warrebeehive.co.uk

www.warre.biobees.com