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Thread: Poly hive musings.

  1. #21
    Senior Member Adam's Avatar
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    I think it's too early to say that I got more honey from this colony; yes they did OK but it might be just because it was the bee. A sister queen has done very well in a double National without swarming. A third sister in the MB hive produced swarm cells very early on and has finished up giving me next to nothing.

    I have moved the bees from the MB hive. They fitted into a 8 frame plywood nuc. As they were being robbed I have a 1" wide entrance in it. Another issue with the MB hives is that it doesn't have an entrance reducer apart from a full-width piece of plastic, so unless you hack it about, (and some beekeepers can't do that sort of thing) you can't reduce the entrance.


    Copyright of photo's. I did question that - apparently most other on-line sites such as Flickr do something similar but they don't tell you. I am mindful that if I had a really amazing picture, I would post elsewhere first. Gavin, are you teasing the BBKA by showing the picture?

    The gallery doesn't really work (no change there then!) as pictures have to be approved before they go live so you can't upload and post in one go. I understand the concerns about security but as they are uploaded by BBKA members I don't see the problem; there must be a secure way of uploading. So it's a gallery that doesn't allow you to post straight-away so doesn't work for the forum and the BBKA are relying on a few Forum members to fill it. Hmmm.

  2. #22
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    Not true for Flickr (I have a premium account so I checked), the copyright is yours (assuming they're your images of course) and you have a number of choices of copyright that you can post pictures under.

    Back to the hives, I'm going to treat the second one, at least on the sidewalls by the top bars and see how that gets on in comparison. What can I say? The sidewalls are definitely getting chewed and that's contributing to propolis covered top bars pulling more of the sidewall off.

  3. #23
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Is there anybody else selling National polynucs apart from Paynes? The box is fine - just a pity about the feeder.
    Kitta

  4. #24
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adam View Post
    Gavin, are you teasing the BBKA by showing the picture?
    Wot, me?!! I think that I was mainly motivated by helping people see it, but this 'copyright' stuff is just another sign that some of their decisions could be better.

    Polynucs, Kitta? Yes, there have been other designs around but the low cost of the Paynes one made it an instant hit. Certainly would be worth considering how the others perform.

  5. #25
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
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    Slightly different tack now, has anyone here combined the Swienty national feeders/roofs with traditional wooden hives? If you have can you say that you've noticed any stand-out differences in Spring colony strength?

  6. #26
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    At least you can mix and match Swienty equipment with traditional wood national hives as the OUTSIDE dimensions coincide.The swienty feeders are great for feeding wooden National,Modern Beekeeping and Swienty hives.It will also sit on top of a Paynes although the Paynes hive bodies and supers protrude as they are dimensionally bigger on their outside dimensions.I've had the odd bee drown however in their excitement to reach the feed as they get pushed under the syrup by the press of bees above.They soon sort themselves out however and I recon the dead bees probably dont exceed 20.
    Last edited by GRIZZLY; 08-08-2012 at 08:07 AM.

  7. #27
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Do you do anything special to the face of the baffle that the bees run down to get access to the syrup? I painted the inside of the feeders with masonary paint and threw sand on the wet surface of the baffle. Didn't see more than one or two bees drowning, but I will admit that they were not full strength colonies. With the clear plastic ('Bayer') cover over the baffle you can stand back and watch the bees first find then sup and call in help as they find the syrup. I was impressed by their multi-tasking. Drinking syrup, ar&e in the air, tip over, and fanning of the wings, all at the same time. The same rough surface inside the Paynes feeder didn't stop mass deaths in them.

  8. #28
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gavin View Post
    The same rough surface inside the Paynes feeder didn't stop mass deaths in them.
    Do you think it is the surface, or might the reason perhaps be the small wooden float Paynes send out with the hive? I thought that this float might just flip over with bees on it causing them to drown. I can't do anything about that now because the hive is in use (that's another thing I don't like about a built-in feeder), but I have a new Paynes polynuc and thought that I'll try that one out with a bigger float in it - one that can't flip over.

  9. #29
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Not sure, but a broader float would probably help. The feeder compartment is tapered so it might be hard to get this right.

  10. #30
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    With the swienty feeders my bees build brace comb in the access slot.I have found that if I leave this in place it cuts down the rush and there is a lot less drowning-so I now leave the wild comb in place.Realy good feeders tho' at the price.

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