# How Fast to Take the Cover Down?



## threebees (Mar 30, 2015)

Hoping to get some info from you bee superheroes out there. It's a long one, sorry! 

I'm managing a very new observation hive that is on public display. It uses top bars with comb hanging from the ceiling of the hive, not frames against glass. It's also large - a 3-foot diameter clear cylinder. 

I installed the package just over a month ago and the colony has really taken off. They've built onto 9 of the 13 top bars - great hanging bundles of comb - and continue to grow and build. We made an attempt with an earlier package this year and the bunch failed to build any comb, absconded (subsequently rehived), but then slowly died out, so seeing these bees succeed has been great. 

Anyway, the idea is for the bees to be on display to the public, and the clear acrylic cylinder will have them viewable from all sides, but I've had them covered up with black paper till now, except for some holes on the side that gets the least light. I've been cutting the holes a little bigger every day, and now I've got a section that's more holes than paper, and you can see the comb fairly easily if you look up. 

These bees have never seemed to mind the holes in the paper. The last bunch did - they gathered around every new hole and seemed very agitated. These bees occasionally run across the holes - in the midafternoon it looks like rush hour traffic - but they don't linger on them. I've seen dance behavior and nectar transfers occurring on the exposed areas as well.

So, with that said, I want to get the hive where people can see it as soon as possible, but how fast is too fast? How much paper should come off each day? How can I tell if they're TOO stressed...and is it possible that they'll just abscond? The last batch left the hive, but they were weak and the comb never had a good laying pattern in it. They seemed "off" from the get-go. This colony seems healthy and content, but now I'm pretty gun-shy about letting in more light. 

Thoughts?


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Go ahead and remove the paper, If you already have large holes you may as well. I have several observation hives, and have never covered them for any reason. A hole in the cover visible to the bees represents an exit. The activity you see is usually not agitation but confusion they could not understand why they could not get through. If there is brood it would be unlikely they would abscond. In my years of beekeeping I would bet I have gathered around 50 exposed hives the bees built outside. Although the seem to like the dark, they are not bothered by the light.


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## threebees (Mar 30, 2015)

Thanks for the reply! I cut out around the holes to form a large open panel and will set about removing the rest after the holiday weekend. I can see what you mean about confused bees - the exhibit is large enough to permit flight and I'm frequently seeing bees land on the open section as if expecting to fly right through. 

If it keeps on smooth sailing from here it'll be a really cool exhibit - tons of people interested even when all they can see are the bees in the exit tube.


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## Buzzlightyear (Dec 4, 2013)

We got to see some pick of that. Please.


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