Category Archives: Hives

Horizontal hive types

Posted on January 17, 2021 by Paul

Andrew Bax, OxNatBees member and developer of the Drayton hive, has had an article published in January’s Beecraft magazine comparing different types of horizontal hive: their advantages and tradeoffs. You can read his review here: Andrew Bax article on horizontal … Continue reading →

Posted in Hives, Members, TBH | Tagged , | Leave a comment

ONBG meeting, July 2020: a Bee Tea at Dee Cottage

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Paul

This was the first ONBG gathering this year as our normal annual cycle of events was interrupted by lockdown. Our last meeting was in October last year! Precautions were taken: access to handwash, masks, social distancing, everyone took their own … Continue reading →

Posted in Apiary visits, Hives, Meetings, Swarms, TBH, Wax | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A new hive design: the Drayton hive

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Paul

A new hive design has just been launched by OxNatBees member Andrew Bax – the Drayton Hive. His new design consists of a deep horizontal hive which combines some of the best features of modern apicentric hive design such as … Continue reading →

Posted in Experimentation, Hives, Members | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Top Bar Hives, warts and all

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Paul

This article first appeared in BBKA News, January 2020. Background Over the 9 years I’ve been using horizontal TBHs (HTBHs), I’ve seen many experiments in design and use. This article is intended to help those considering one find their way … Continue reading →

Posted in Experimentation, TBH | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

ONBG meeting, October 2019: Hive envy!

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Paul

17 folk converged on a north Oxfordshire village to share lunch, view some stunning and unusual hives, discuss When Honey Goes Wrong, and view the feral colonies round the village. Well, that was the plan. The schedule was instantly junked … Continue reading →

Posted in Apiary visits, Experimentation, Hives, Honey, Meetings, ONBG, Warré, Wax | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Learning from the Bees, Berlin – bees au naturel!

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Paul

The second international Learning from the Bees conference featured a recurring theme: bees in trees. It left two lasting impressions on me: It will influence German beekeeping for years to come, catalysing the spread of natural beekeeping; A paradigm-changing insight … Continue reading →

Posted in Experimentation, Honey bee research, Log hive | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ONBG+ meeting, August 2019: insulation, cavity size, Golden Hives

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Paul

The Oxfordshire group invited members from the neighbouring Hampshire and Wye Valley natural beekeeping groups to join us for a joint meeting at Gareth’s apiary – 34 people from 7 counties converged for the session. These annual co-events allow for … Continue reading →

Posted in Apiary visits, Event, Experimentation, Hives, Honey bee research, Meetings, ONBG, Research | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments