# Straw Bee Skep



## Black Creek (May 19, 2006)

ok.. wasnt sure where to post this, i figured here would be the best. 

next year i plan on putting together a kinda formal style herb garden. maybe brick walkways, raised beds, benches, boxwood hedge surrounding it..... you get the idea. what i thought would just be icing on the cake, would be to have a real functioning old style bee skep in place there. i know the term 'functioning' may be a bit misleading. i just want bees to survive in it. i'm not overly worried about swarming or a honey crop from it. they can do whatever they want, as long as they can live in there and pollinate the herbs and provide a pleasant buzzing sound to the air. it would be more for decoration, or focal point or ambiance. Has anyone attempted using one of these things? i've seen a few modified designs over the orignial basic basket, and i may possibly experiment with those, but mostly i want it to look like the old style classic design. i know i'd be hard to keep mites at bay, but it would be somewhat isolated from any other colonies. any thoughts on this?


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## iddee (Jun 21, 2005)

It is illegal to keep bees in a container of any kind that doesn't have removable frames. I don't know how you would install removable frames in a skep.


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## Black Creek (May 19, 2006)

really?? hmmm... ok say i came up with a solution to that... i saw one old drawing where the skep was basically barrel shaped and had sticks laid across the top kinda like a top bar hive and then they had a board on top of that kinda like they did for bee gum. how about something along those lines but instead of a board, i'll just make a removeable dome top? there could even be a inner cover over top of the bars. i could even make the dome top into a modified honey super.


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## Black Creek (May 19, 2006)

heck... if it comes down to it, i might just build a modified little nuc and put it inside skep. but i'm interested in making it as a real hive utilizing the skep if at all possible. the idea of just putting a basket over a box is a bit goofy to me.


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## Black Creek (May 19, 2006)

i'm still brain storming the design, but i believe you may have got me thinking on the right path iddee... i can soak it down on the outside with some sort of wood preservative water seal in several coats, and on the inside i can line it with melted beeswax to keep it weather proof and to seal up little nooks and crannies where a hive beetle could hide. and with topbars or some sort of modified frames, it'd have removable combs that could be natural sized. it may be able to be managed a lot like a more standard hive with a few modifications over the old skep style, but still retain that nostalgic look on the outside. 

could this work??


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## Kieck (Dec 2, 2005)

Check with the state of Virginia, whether or not keeping bees in a hive without moveable frames is legal. Iddee might very well be right -- he would be here in South Dakota, but that's a South Dakota law. I'm not sure all states are as restrictive about beekeeping.

For instance, Kansas really didn't seem to care much about laws regarding beekeeping. You could register your hives, or not, depending on your preference.

The reason for requiring moveable frame equipment is ease of inspections. If inspections (and registration) are not mandatory in your state, moveable frame equipment might be optional, too. I don't see why the state would care if they're not inspecting it.


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## Baloo (Feb 28, 2006)

If you are going from a decorative standpoint why not build a WBC hive. It would fit perfectly in an English style garden.

http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/wbc.html


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## Black Creek (May 19, 2006)

hmmm... well i was thinking that i could keep the colony size a bit on the small size in the skep. it may be placed a bit outside of the garden space on a stand of somesort so it is in plain view when looking at the garden, but far enough away to prevent agitating the bees just by simply entering the area. and smaller size would keep the total volume of bees down, so the area is more visitor friendly. which brings up a question to me..

what is the smallest size a hive can be and still continue to be healthy? ....could something around a nuc size hive be kept continually?


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

I think a nicely painted single deep with a fancy copper covered peaked roof on it would be just dandy. Someone gave me some used gear this past summer including one of those copper covered peaked roofs. I plan on putting a hive in my garden next year. Might even put a honey super on it. Might make some honey.

The reason for moveable frames makes sense. If you can't inspect the combs, you can't detect AFB. If you can't detect AFB, you run the risk of infecting your other hives and the hives of your neighbors. There are feral hives over which we have no control. It doesn't make sense to have a "pet" unmanaged hive. Why run the risk?

That said, as long as the combs are removable, go for it. A friend of mine built a hexagonal hive out of wood:

http://www.sweettimeapiary.com/pics/hexagonal_hive3.jpg

It was in my humble opinion a management nightmare, but he liked it.


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

It is my understanding that skeps (uninspectable or non-removable frames) are not allowed in any of the states. 

For those wanting printed material on the matter, please refer to brushey mountain bee farm magazine, page 51. It clearly states "It is illegal to keep bees in skeps...." So there you have it.


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## drobbins (Jun 1, 2005)

>It was in my humble opinion a management nightmare, but he liked it.

George,

I agree on the management nightmare part,
but next time you see him tell him some guy in NC thinks it's way kool









Dave


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Make a Greek Basket hive with top bars and you may get the best of both worlds. Movable comb in a basket.


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

>next time you see him tell him some guy in NC thinks it's way kool

Will do







There are 4 pictures of the hive in that directory if you didn't notice.

The biggest problem with the hive is that the top bars are beveled on the ends and different lengths except for the 4 in the middle of course, so for the most part, you need to put them back in where they came from. Some of the combs were nearly 2' long too and rather hard to handle. I think he ended up putting side bars on some of the frames to help support the comb.


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## Robert Brenchley (Apr 23, 2000)

Why not try a top bar hive; it's quite traditional, though not the UK or US style, and gives you access to the frames. The advantage would be that there are people keeping bees this way (skeppists are rare if you can find them at all), so there is expertise available.


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