I was recently pointed to a project by Philips to design a home that was more in tune with environmental issues - composting, waste recycling etc, but all done with a modern urban design brief.
One of the items in this collection was a beehive, and its an amazingly beautiful piece of design. But sadly, it doesn’t appear to have had any input from those involved in beekeeping, especially not in the modern beekeeping environment, or those who understand bee behaviour.
The beehive in question is here:
Microbial Home - Urban Beehive
I’ve tried to list what I think are the main issues with this design, from the perspectives of both bee and beekeeper. There may be some which the designers have thought round, but they don’t seem immediately apparent… and of course there may be more issues that don’t spring to mind as I write this!
Of course, its always a noble aim to try to get more people interested in beekeeping, and to promote bee numbers and bee health at a time when colonies are under threat. However, this particular example shows how the practicalities of some environmental issues are often misunderstood by those seeking to help - in turn creating more problems than they solve.
Bees
Glass Hive - Bees hate there being light in the hive as it would in nature mean gaps, drafts, access for other bees, wasps, mice etc. They’ll spend a lot of effort trying to cover the surface in propolis to block it out, ruining the visual effect, and wasting a lot of bee energy. While an orange filter might help to reduce this, the other wavelengths will still promote propolis use. Secondly, the impermeable nature of the hive design, and the lack of ventilation (other than the entrance) means that the hive will probably suffer from damp conditions (think breathing into a plastic bag). Most hives are either constructed from loose-fitting, permeable materials (like wood), or utilise mesh floors to improve ventilation. Bees generally need cooling, rather than heating up throughout the year - something that a lack of ventilation won’t help to provide.
The Entrance - this is located half-way up the hive - something which bees tend to not like, as there’s both a risk of water ingress at and below an entrance, and also cooling from incoming cold air, which means they’re less likely to use the space below it. A mid-wall entrance also makes it difficult for the bees to throw out dirt and debris as they have to drag it half way up the wall.
Horizontal Frames - In nature bees build hanging caternary shaped frames, the curve gives strength to the frame, but the vertical nature of the frame supports the weight of brood and honey - up to 2 kilos per frame in a modern beehive. Holding the frames at a horizontal angle risks the frames collapsing, and also means that very practically, stored honey will simply fall out!
Hive Size - Its difficult to tell exactly how big this hive is - but most modern hives have a volume of around 40 litres for the brood, plus excess for the honey storage. If its smaller than that (which it does appear to be) - then the colony may well starve over winter, as well as swarming regularly when conditions are cramped.
Beekeeper
Collection ‘Tap’ - I’m speculating that the rod inserted in the bottom is a way to let any honey that has fallen out of the horizontal frames collect in the orange plastic bowl at the bottom and then be tapped out. However, this collection bowl will also collect dead bees, brood, wax cells, dirt and all sorts of detritus. This will also interfere with the bees natural cleaning efforts.
Hive Inspection - With the shape and orientation of these frames, inspecting the colony for disease, queen cells, colony strength would be nigh-on impossible. Since all the frames are joined together, and could weigh 10’s of kilos, there’s no easy way to not disrupt the bees on inspection. For more information on this issue - contrast skep beekeeping with top-bar beekeeping.
Honey Collection - Apart from this ‘not-very-useful’ tap system, there’s no easy way for a beekeeper to collect honey from this hive. In modern hives, the honey storage and brood laying areas are kept separate by means of a queen excluder - in this hive everything happens together, so no produce could be easily collected without damaging the colony.
Disease Control - One possible argument for this design is that its there to just ‘let the bees get on with it’ - and not aim to extract honey or manipulate the colony in any way. However, this is no longer a viable option for the European Honey Bee. The prevalence of varroa throughout the world means that there are almost no ‘wild’ colonies left any more, as varroa will wipe them out after 3-5 years. As a result, beekeepers have to treat their colonies in a variety of ways to reduce the impact of varroa. All of the current treatment methods require easy access to the frames, queen manipulation or brood extraction - which wouldn’t be possible with this design.
Niggles - OK - these aren’t really issues with the hive, but I still thought they’re worth pointing out. Firstly, the hive is mounted 2 feet above head height in a window that appears to be 30 feet off the ground. You’ll be opening that hive into your New York Apartment and filling it with bees - or hiring a crane to do it from the outside! Of course, this applies anywhere - you’re mounting this into a window or wall - so you’ll have to find an external wall of your house where the daily flow of bees isn’t going to get you stung as you pass by.Of course, with the small size and regular swarms, this is more likely. that flower pot isn’t exactly going to feed them either! (ok, I’ll stop now!)
