An Observation Hive – Can I Use Wood To Make It?

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You get observation hives and then you get cool observation hives! Observation hives are a lot of fun – they let us watch the bees do their thing and get insights into how their world works.

A wild or managed beehive consists of a row of combs that are all next to each other. The combs are spaced apart using bee space, and this gives us our beehive.

Observation Hive 101

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If we look at the above summary, the big problem that observation hives suffer from is that the bees struggle to keep the hive warm.

Problems With Conventional Observation Hives

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Let’s think about this in an out-of-the-box way. Bees fly in the air. Air conducts heat. Air surrounds a hive. Air conducts heat and cools the hive.

How Do We Make A  Super Observation Hive That Works Properly?

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Thinking Laterally

An observation hive is a “fish tank” for bees. Now, what would happen if we combined a fish tank with an observation hive?

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I Am Not Going To Give You The Plans!!!

This sounds a bit nasty, but it is not. The big problem with the world right now is that we can download plans for simple things, copy them

We forget plans. If we learn logic, we will always have a plan.

I Will Give You The Logic and You Can Fashion Something More Awesome – Your Own Unique Creation

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Materials Needed

You will need glass. With making a fish tank it is really important to use a decent thickness of glass – I tend to just use online guides such as this for my glass purchases.

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ADVICE

Work on your design on pieces of paper. Draw and draw again. Then calculate your bee space such that the distance between the surfaces of the comb and the glass is never greater than 1/4 inch.

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