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LOL! I keep reading about these new hive designs, but I have as yet to find a plan diagram so that I can build one, or anyone who actually used one. I'm hoping someone on DG can provide enlightenment on the subject. Maybe Wonder if there are any DGers who live near the sanctuary that would be willing to go by for a visit and report back to us.
Man,I have been looking for ANYthing to do with this since I read about it. I too have been looking for ENLIGHTENMENT on this and SO many things. lol Just to be able to see it was cool. Now just need to find a manufacturer, the visual helps but plans would be DIVINE. Better yet pre-manufactured, ready-to-ship would be WAY up my alley.
Keep on it G_M and do report back you have already had way more success then I.
Nadine
Nadine, I can figure out how to build the outside of the hive, but how would the frames be placed inside so that one can collect the honey and not destroy the whole comb? Seriously hoping someone else on this forum will be able to share some insight.
Well, I figured what the hey & called Ron Breland.
He's going to email me some images.
He doesn't really have it all nailed down himself & is still experimenting. But he says his top boards (that the combs are built off) are cut to fit within the dodecahedron shape. Apparently, bees will not build comb on walls of a certain slope, so they stay pretty orderly.
The most interesting thing is that he fits an upside-down bee skep into the bottom, then installs his bees, THEN puts another skep on top of that with the top cut off, so he ends up with an egg shape with a hole in the top. And so far, he says, the bees have built brood comb there & honey up top.
He's mostly trying to mimic what the bees would do in their own ideal circumstances, and these hives certainly wouldn't work for someone trying to mass-produce pollinators or honey.
Oh, also, I asked about plans & patents or whether we otherwise would be stepping on his toes by trying to build these hives and he said NO, unless we're trying to make a buck on his dime.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, summerkid! I will try to track down the Yoga Joyful Living article. Did he mention whether or not he sells plans for his current hive designs? I would be happy to purchase plans from him to get started on my own hives. Would you consider Dmailing his contact info to me?
Hey GM, he doesn't sell plans because he has no desire to profit from this. Plus he says he's still perfecting it. He's very curious to see what other people come up with too, but he suspects that a major reason for the recent downfall of the HB is that they do not like being kept in square hives that have nothing to do with how they create. He says they want to be in hollows, not filing cabinets.
I sent him a link to this thread, and I'm sure he has no problem with me sharing his email, so I will indeed send that to you. Remind me if I forget.
