# share my long lang thoughts



## Adam in Maryland (Aug 30, 2015)

I started having bees in my yard in March. I have greatly enjoyed there company. So far they have been very pleasant and with a little observation I can tell there mood so I adapt my activities to make my visits more pleasant to them. I built what I thought would be good for me after what I have read hoping things would be ok. I couldn't find much input about a long lang so I hoped it wouldn't fail. I made it to fit 4 medium deeps wide with 4 inner covers so I could disturb smaller areas at once then a gable style roof. So far they are very productive drawing there own comb and when things get a little cross I just go in "gingerly" and cut and rubber band them straight like a cut out. They reattach and keep going. Since they were a 3 pound package I have fed 1 to 1 and essential oils. So far no protective gear and no stings. I am mindful of there duties and never push the bar. My goal is a healthy stock of pollinators. I have done mite checks and found none so last week when fixing comb I took a couple of 2 inch squares of capped brood and froze it. After thorough inspection still no mites. I don't think it is possible but at least it is at manageable levels it would seem. I would like to know if anyone else has tried this type of hive and what you have experienced.


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## billabell (Apr 19, 2010)

Put in the search bar, Long Lang or horizontal hive or lang and there are at least 10 threads discussing this topic. I would like to do one myself. I was going to try this year but I had all I could handle with my regular Langs-always next year.


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## beestudent (Jun 10, 2015)

i wanna try having a long lang with 4 sections, screened off by queen excluder, so i can experiment with 4 queens.


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## rmcpb (Aug 15, 2012)

First, please use at least a veil and have your smoker lit in case you need it.

I had long langs for a while. nice and quiet for the first couple of seasons but when they get going I found them a handfull. I used an old cloth over the exposed frames to limit the number of bees exposed at any time but they were still a bit out there. The main problem seemed to be that by the time you had worked your way into the centre of the hive you had stirred up a LOT of bees, then you had to close them up.


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## beestudent (Jun 10, 2015)

rmcpb said:


> First, please use at least a veil and have your smoker lit in case you need it.
> 
> I had long langs for a while. nice and quiet for the first couple of seasons but when they get going I found them a handfull. I used an old cloth over the exposed frames to limit the number of bees exposed at any time but they were still a bit out there. The main problem seemed to be that by the time you had worked your way into the centre of the hive you had stirred up a LOT of bees, then you had to close them up.


thats the point of multiple lids, prefferably migratory lids...


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

Easier if you put innwr lids topped with burlap sacks and then a telescoping lid. Also helps w moisture.


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## rmcpb (Aug 15, 2012)

Even with the lids you still end up with lots of angry bees. To get at a centre frame you have to start at one end and work your way in. Even if you cover them as you go you have moved lots of frames to get to where you want. The shuffling of the frames is one of the reasons I stopped using them.


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## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

I built out five long Lang hives for use this year. All was fine but just didn't seem to build out enough. I was constantly having to open the brood nest to keep the population where I wanted it. The bees wanted to store lots of honey at the top of the deep frames and kept pushing the queens down. Then I got tired of dealing with it and moved them all into standard Lang hives 8 framers. Doing great now with very little assistance from me. So now for me I'm back to regular Lang hives from here on.


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## texanbelchers (Aug 4, 2014)

rmcpb said:


> Even with the lids you still end up with lots of angry bees. To get at a centre frame you have to start at one end and work your way in. Even if you cover them as you go you have moved lots of frames to get to where you want. The shuffling of the frames is one of the reasons I stopped using them.


Same here. I couldn't figure a good access method without rolling many bees or repeated sliding/shuffling from one end to the other. I'm sure a lot was being really green, but swarm control was difficult and it was made worse by trying to expand it too fast. Once they started they kept swarming until nothing was left.

i'm glad you are having a good experience so far and don't wish my experience on you.


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## MattDavey (Dec 16, 2011)

If you leave a bit of a gap between every 5th frame or so, you can remove that frame first in each "section" of the Long Lang. The bees will widen the top of the comb where honey is stored, but lower down on the frame where there is brood comb it will be normal brood comb width. So you just need to puff smoke down both sides of that frame so the top is clear of bees, then you don't roll bees. There is no need to work from the very end of a box.


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## Little-John (Jun 18, 2015)

That's the beauty of non-Hoffman frames - you just move away by a couple of millimetres the frames next to the one you're interested in - then you can pull your frame out without any problems.

If you're using Hoffman frames, then consider having a dummy frame or partition board at either end of the array. Then you can start your inspection from either end.

To separate honey combs from brood combs, install a 'partial' partition board - i.e. one which has a large gap (2" or so) at the bottom. Suitably placed, this will act as a queen excluder. All my partition boards are of this type, which allow bees free access beneath, whilst still providing the hive with a thermal curtain.
LJ


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Mine is all mediums. 33 frames. Separate migratory covers.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeshorizontalhives.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/LongHive1.JPG


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

What is the longest long-lang ever made? 
I feel a world-record attempt coming on.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Judging by the data collected by Eva Crane and Brother Adam and the research done by Wyatt Magnum and myself, I think the maximum USEFUL length for a horizontal hive is about five feet. I'm sure there is no limit to how long you can MAKE one, but how much of it can you get the bees to use and how much effort it takes is the breaking point. I tend to make all of mine four feet as it takes a bit more effort to get them to use five feet than I want to spend.


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## Adam in Maryland (Aug 30, 2015)

It has been my intention to keep things simple and let the colony do its thing. My box is 55" long and holds 40 dadant type frames. The 4 inner covers are the same footprint as 10 frame supers. They girls have filled out 38 frames with comb mixed with everything.The last frame is drawn out with noticeably larger comb. I assume it is for drones if they need it for later. As of now they just have it there. If this is early preparations for a swarm in spring that would be interesting to me. I placed a medium deep super on top of the first ten frames at the entrance and on sunday will check if they are doing anything in it. I moved a frame of honey to the outside wall of the super and 2 combs of larva to the center of it. Some replies mention smokers and veils,yes I smoke in a traditional manner and use eye protection.


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