Time to start this one off!

[drumgerry]

Popz - don't mean to depress you. What I'm describing is purely my experience. But I feel sometimes that there's a lot of perhaps overly positive portrayals of what actually having TBHs is like. It's not a cure-all for the bees and doesn't fully address the disadvantages of conventional hives. And I'm not convinced they are particularly well suited to the Scottish climate - but like I said I have only one year's experience of using them.

I didn't find feeding the bees particularly difficult. I created a chamber for them at one end of the hive which they could access and which contained a plastic feeder. So they built up their stores for the winter just fine. That they couldn't manage to access them (as a winter cluster) was the main problem. Perhaps Warre hives might be a better option for those seeking a hive with a natural broodnest as they go up the way (which conforms more with the bees natural instincts) rather than lengthwise as is the case with TBHs.

I doubt I'll be entrusting any more colonies to TBHs as they are too rare and precious a commodity to risk losing in this day and age.

Cheers

Gerry