Beekeeping & Development 62
OBSERVATION HIVES EDUCATIONAL BEEKEEPING
Potien
by Dewey M Caron, University of Delaware, USA
Observation hives are a useful educational mechanism for helping the public understand the workings of a colony and provide a great crowd attraction and display at exhibitions. Observation hives comprise a small colony of bees maintained in a structure with clear glass or plastic
walls. They may be smaller than normal, permanent hives solidly fixed to a site for exposition or they may
If at all possible the queen should be marked so visitors can spot her. General information on the brood-food pattern of a bee colony as well as worker-
be a temporary (queenright or queeniess)
queen-drone identification and adult activities available for visitors to see and read enhances the
representation of a hive. Ideally an observation hive should be one to three frames high and only one frame
benefit of the unit. If the hive is on display and unattended it needs some easy to understand
wide but can be in larger units and even two or three frames wide although considerably fewer observations of bee colony life will be possible with such an arrangement.
The most important concept
in an observation hive is
bee space. Bee space is the room the bees leave as they move from one parallel comb to the other. For a truly observational hive only bee spacing should be permitted around the top, sides, and bottom of the
information close by to explain bee colony basics. During attendance by beekeepers, far more detail can be imparted such as information on beekeeping, bee dancing, bee biology, the reign of the queen,
Early hive makers began to use glass to enclose their bees from the 1600s when its use became affordable.
Nobel Prize winning discoveries on bee dance language and many other bee biology discoveries have been aided by studying bees in observation hives.
days in length.
MAKING A TEMPORARY OBSERVATION HIVE The important concept is to adhere to bee space for proper viewing. Temporary observation hives should be small so they are easily transported. Depending upon the situation a hive might consist of only a single
frame and lack a queen: basically consisting of a single frame/piece of comb removed from a colony,
hive generally benefits from any other management you
put between glass/plastic walls held apart by a wooden frame of the correct dimensions to hold the
might undertake with regular colonies. Where there is a substantial non-resource season or where bees migrate,
frame (standard frame or top-bar or piece of comb cut from a non-frame hive). The temporary observation
observation hives should be made up at the beginning of the productive season and dismantled at the end.
hive should be assembled before the event, but no sooner than the day before, and then dismantled and put back into the colony it was taken from after use.
Maintenance should only be done when the attraction iS closed, or few visitors are around. Ideally the
observation hive should be sited so it can be removed
Temporary observation hives should not be unattended by the beekeeper. They can be used for an
intact from its secure site (closing its entrance both from outside and inside) and then transported to a position outside the site for dismantling or for maintenance as
event, a show, to sell one’s bee products, as they are a great crowd-pleaser. If bee basics are to be
emphasised a frame with all life stages and the queen and workers might be assembled and displayed.
necessary. An observation hive should only infrequently require such activity. Observation hives have a great
A honey-filled comb can be used for
deal of activity at the entrance so a clear entry of round tubing or a glass/plastic channel is sure to be attractive.
even sold or auctioned to the highest bidder. These hives should not be exposed to high temperatures and
Visitors can watch bees come and go, see pollen collectors, removal of dead workers, guarding and the
with fewer bees might be more susceptible to meltdown if exhibited in the sun. If the worker bees
general movement of bees into and exiting their colony.
are running wildly about try giving them water (a small hole in the top can be included to feed dilute
A small hole at the top or in the entry/exit channel should be included so a feeder of sugar water can be utilised for the bees. All other manipulations should be done with the unit outside the display area.
Glass/plastic walls might need cleaning every month — this is especially necessary if too much space is allowed for bee spacing. The glass/plastic walls may need
in the
a
sale event and
sugar water or water) to calm them down.
Many bee supply companies sell observation hives especially for Langstroth size frames. It may be just as convenient to construct an observation hive using information given in the references.
replacing annually.
A Bees for Development publication
USA.
describes a top-bar observation hive. 2.
SHOWLER,K (1985)
The observation hive.
Bee Books New and Old, Charlestown, UK.
3 . WEBSTER,T; CARON,D (1999) Observation Hives - how to set up, maintain and use
HISTORY OF OBSERVATION HIVES
Karl von Frisch used observation hives for his
honey or pollen bound; they might contract disease, and they frequently need feeding. A permanent observation
(2001) Top-bar hives
Beekeeping & Development 58. The author
Available from Bees for Development (order code W355). price 14.40
season (and sometimes well into a non-productive bee time). A temporary unit can be made within a short time of need and disassembled immediately after use — which should be only for a few hours to a couple of
begin swarming preparations; they are prone to become
1. MANGUM,W
a window to the world of honey bees. A Root Co, Medina, USA.
The Reverend Langstroth used glass in his inner hive dimensions for his first movable-comb hive.
colony is a smaller version of an ordinary colony this may cause difficulties: the colony can get too large or too low in worker population; they can lose their queen or
REFERENCES
and honey/pollen/beeswax/propolis and their uses.
frame (or frames) you enclose and the glass viewing walls. Permanent observation hives will last an entire
Above all permanent observation hives should be secure. Hives also need to be serviceable. Since an observation
The basics of an observation hive (taken from reference 3)
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