New Hive Boxes

I got three new boxes for the bees. One is meant to go on top of the existing hive when I get some more bees to put in. If you separate them with a layer of newspaper, by the time they chew through they think they are from the same hive. If there are two queens one will get axed. My hope is to increase the number of bees I have to make the hive stronger. The more there are the better they can defend themselves. Roberta says it's better to have one big hive than two small ones.


But I still got a couple of deep boxes to start a new hive. Here you can see the two sizes, a medium and a deep. The medium will go on the existing hive which already has two mediums. The two new deeps will be to start a new hive. Some people like the mediums because they are easier to move, but I'm hoping that once I get the deeps in place I'll never move them again. Starting with two deeps will give the future hive more room and keep them from getting too crowded. If they feel crowded they will swarm and take half the bees with them.


The boxes came put together but I took them apart so I could glue joints.




The glue should do a good job of holding the sides together but I also added some brads.


I got a layer of primer on them. Paint will have to wait for tomorrow.