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Bernhard Heuvel
Initial thoughts
The Warr bee hive by the French Abb ELOI FRANOIS MILE WARR called by himself the PEOPLE'S HIVE got very popular nowadays. That hive is very economical and practical and also supports the more natural approach of beekeeping. The Warr-bee hive is a box hive which is why it is able to adapt to many local situations, needs and necessities. The capability to adapt is the reason, why box hives in general are popular all over the World. The 'frameless box hive' the Warr hive seems to gain similar popularity today. It is in use throughout North and South America, from Alaska to Brazil. Beekeepers from Europe, Africa, Indonesia, Asia and Australia report keeping bees happily in the Warr hive. Thus the life's work of MILE WARR Beekeeping for All receives appreciation and his vision of a PEOPLE'S HIVE comes true. But even MILE WARR himself points out the dependency of success on local contexts: The truth No type of hive, no method of beekeeping turns stones into honey. Neither do they make the beekeeper any wiser, or increase queen fertility or improve the ambient temperature. As a result the yield of a hive varies from one region to another, from one hive to another and from one year to another, just as does the nectar wealth of the region, queen fertility, temperature and the skill of the beekeeper. 1 WARR distinguishes here between hive and method. The methods the Warr-hive is used with are various today. And that is a good thing. Because adaptions and modifications of the hive and method is beneficial not just for the beekeeper, but for the bees as well. All beekeeping is local. 2 WARR worked with splits and the heroic method under his local circumstances: Under todays circumstances the use of the heroic method without doubt is becoming a necessity, to gain a profit/harvest. 3
admits. About 85 % of feral swarms die before or in the first winter, which has been found by See ley and Morse even in times preceding the occurrence of varroa. In addition the classic system is based on the vitality of the bees and on a flora rich in nectar throughout the season. The citation above of WARR on the necessity to use the heroic method shows, that he already noticed the changing environmental conditions. In place of a many small nectar flows of wild groves, shrubs and herbs there are mass nectar flows with long times of dearths between. This is a real challenge for both beekeepers and bees. The heroic method on the other hand really is 'heroic', because it is gamely and risky. It fits the modern concept of removing all brood during the season to treat against varroa mites. The removal of brood and combs cuts back varroa population dynamics. Often com bined with a chemical treatment or essential oils. The brood retains in the hive many bees that could otherwise go foraging. 5 This logic is appropriate but local circumstances do not always allow the use of the heroic method. For example: in our region there mainly is a Spring and a early summer flow. Just before the hives recovered from being broodless a worker bee needs 40 days to develop from an egg to a forager the main nectar flow is over. With the flow the chance to collect amounts of honey worth mentioning is gone. As a consequence it is even necessary to feed sugar to get the hives through winter. Just like the removal of brood, a swarm diminishes the foraging of honey. If they lack space, they swarm. As a result, the honey harvest is reduced. 6 You just need to let the hives swarm to verify the significant reduction of honey yields by swarming. Not only that the minimum harvest of about 15 kilogram isn't reached also you give up harvest altogether and you have to feed.
Some bee-ology
In fixed comb hives I observed differences in the building ability of prime swarms and casts. Prime swarms have old queens and casts young queens. It is widely accepted, that a prime swarms fills a hive with combs fasted even without any feeding. The bees of a prime swarm simply want to build. The prime swarms clusters in the center of the ceiling and the combs build look very appealing. That's different in a cast swarm, which often starts building combs from the sides of the hive and does look some sort of 'lost' in the hive. The cast does need feeding or it will most probably not survive the winter. I therefore conclude (and may be wrong, of course), that there is a division of tasks: the prime swarm fulfills the tasks to occupy empty cavities and build a proper brood nest, while the casts with the young queens occupy already build nests. Be it the combs of the mother hive or the combs of a vacant hive/cavity. In the case the cast doesn't find such a nest, it is doomed. That may explain the high losses of feral swarms in the study mentioned above. For the development of a system or method in fixed comb hives I therefore deduce that prime swarms should be used to build brood nests, while casts have to be put on already drawn combs. At least you can't do anything wrong by following this principle.
5 Page 94 6 Page 88
Steps to success
1 Initial situation after wintering.
After the hives have been wintered successfully so in early spring, the bees didn't eat up much of the stores. In spring the bees use most of the stores, which get turned into brood then. In early spring you find if wintered on two boxes usually one box with more
7 Karl Pfefferle: Imkern mit dem Magazin und mit der Varroatose. (book)
or less honey and another box with more or less brood in it.
8 Karl Pfefferle: Imkern mit dem Magazin und mit der Varroatose. Page 35 ff. (book.) 9 Page 146
Sketch 2: Stimulation by scribing two honey combs in early spring. Indicator: First strong pollen collection. 40 days before expected first main flow.
Sketch 3: Nadiring an empty box. Indicator: Dandelion is blossoming. This hive box later contains some combs which can be used as seed combs for swarms. The nadiring can be left out as suggested by PFEFFERLE and supered instead, which will produce even larger colonies.
Sketch 4: Prime swarm at the old location. Brood boxes are splitted and used as nucs. The brood boxes of the swarmed hive are splitted and the queen cells divided into the two boxes. The boxes are put into another place. If there is brood only in one box, the one box will be put into another place. Foragers of the split will return to the prime swarm, resulting in small colonies that won't swarm and swarm. The young queens get mated and until the end of summer the colonies grow into full sized young colonies, ready for next season. A variation is the twin-hive system. Simply put an empty box above a queen excluder onto the two splits, thus combining the hives through the top. The hives communicate through that topbox and even out themselves, sharing the workforce. That helps both colonies.
Sketch 5: Twin hive system with the two splits. Indicator: Apple and horse chestnut blossoming. This way the young colonies/splits may collect their own honey for wintering. Being broodless for some time there is a chance to treat against varroa mites.
capes are used to get the bees out. In localities with early nectar flows only, the use of a queen excluder between honey boxes and brood boxes should be considered, because it is the only chance to make a harvest. And to not need to feed to winter the hives.
Sketch 6: Supering, nadiring, harvesting. Indicator: Raspberries, blackberries, locust tree, lime tree Once the young queens lay eggs and first brood hatches, the splits should be nadired. Boxes with fully drawn comb preferred, but empty boxes do as well.
Final words
I hope that the above thoughts illustrate my trials to adapt to our locality, a region with mainly spring nectar flows and a long summer dearth. I think it is necessary to differentiate between the hive and method/system, and to develop your own system. That is adapted to your locality. Being advantageous not only for you, but for the bees, too. Wintering hives in one box, feeding sugar every year, excessive swarming of hives that just build one or two boxes, no harvests that is not necessary. There are times when well-trodden trails have to be left and new ways to be explored. The Warr hive itself is enormously flexible and adaptable. It provides an excellent potential to keep bees the simple and productive way by all of us. Just what Warr intended. I finish this text with his wish: Mella fluunt tibi.