# Adding hive bodies



## Rookhawk (May 20, 2013)

Question: why not start with three hive bodies on a warre instead of two?

If the heavily argued statement is that they hate drawing the bottom box due to additional light exposure through the screen, wouldn't this get you to two boxes full faster?

Also, it would reduce manipulations.

Curious to understand the full ramifications of too much bee room.

I know two boxes are 37 liters and three is 55 liters, wild swarms like to start in the 40 liter size or more, so what's the verdict on this practice?

Any research to share on the consequences of too much cavity space too fast so I can learn the principles more academically?


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## A. S. Templeton (Nov 30, 2009)

Rookhawk said:


> Question: why not start with three hive bodies on a warre instead of two? ...If the heavily argued statement is that they hate drawing the bottom box due to additional light exposure through the screen, wouldn't this get you to two boxes full faster?...
> 
> ...too much bee room....
> 
> ...


Haven't seen any research on this hypothesis. It does seem allowable that smaller swarms would choose smaller cavities over larger to make defense and heating initially more manageable.

But by installing packages or swarms, that mechanism is short-circuited. I've had a package abscond from a 2-box Warré, but a smallish cast seem quite content with a one-box setup. The Warré 2-box setup incidentally is within 10% of the average volume of legacy european skeps, so I suspect traditional sizing comes into play, as well as the too-tidy, metricized 30x30x20 cm internal dimensions called out.

And this is the first time I've heard the suggestion that light below contributes to false-floor stoppage. My hive entrances are small, ~6 sq. cm. or so, but I don't suppose I experience 40% less false-floor than users of the canonical Warré bases.


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## Rookhawk (May 20, 2013)

Seeley did the research on this at Cornell. Bees like a 15cm opening and favor a 40 liter cavity. They tolerate larger 60 liter cavities and they dislike 15 liter cavities.

Honeybee democracy gives all this data. 

Still waiting for an answer to my question, however.


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## A. S. Templeton (Nov 30, 2009)

Sorry but I thought your question was in the context of hive management. Seeley's research was on swarm preference in an unmanaged situation, driven by aggregate consensus and using bees' criteria. If you're trying to attract a honey bee swarm then by all means use those criteria.

All I was suggesting was that, Based on my own experience, honey bees, if given no choice in their size of their forced lodgings, are pretty flexible and adaptable. You may find more satisfactory replies at the yahoo UK warrebeekeeping forum.


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