Adventures in Beekeeping: Assembled Warre Hive

Tuesday, I finally put together my Warre hive. It was also my daughter’s birthday we chatted as she rotated between drawing with her new Bamboo Splash tablet and playing with her adorable knitted doll.

She seemed quite fascinated with the entire Warre hive construction process and for some reason was particularly loved seeing me use the right angle clamps to make the Warre boxes. I can’t say how long it took to finish the hive, perhaps a few hours. It would have gone much faster if I wasn’t socializing with my daughter but I wouldn’t change that aspect since it made a wonderful experience even more enjoyable.

This Warre hive has an observation window, once I take it outside, I’ll be sure to post pictures of how that appears. Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, I’ll paint the outside of the hive with some exterior paint. Initially I was leaning towards linseed (aka flaxeed oil) but from my reading that can take months to cure. I don’t have months, the honeybees can arrive as early as next week.

I’m a bit concerned with the lateness of the honeybess arrival, most honeybee packages appear in early April. However, the unseasonably cool weather we’ve been experiencing in Maryland has delayed shipment for many bee package supplies. I’m prepared to feed my honeybees for a while, if necessary, to ensure they do well. Last month, I purchased a top bar feeder for my honeybees and once the bees arrive, I’ll set them up with a 1:1 mixture of raw cane sugar and water. The placement of the Warre hive might change. I’m now thinking of either placing it inside our fenced in garden, it’s about 3/4 of an acre or setting it alongside our grapevine.