FAQs
Please see our "Get a Hive!" page for information about the process of setting up a hive, including planning for installation and a budget. Our "Build & Maintain a Hive" page includes step-by-step directions for building your own hive and maintaining one.
What is an observation hive? Why have one?
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An observation hive is a unique exhibit to see daily because it shows an entire active population of honeybees as a superorganism. One can see the European Honey Bee (Apis melifera) carrying out all of its daily operations: food and water gathering, cleaning, thermoregulation, communication, and reproduction.
Basic Structure
An observation hive is a small colony of bees enclosed in boxes with thick glass or plastic on opposite sides, and a passage tube to the outdoors. Traditional Langstroth hives can house upwards of 80,000 bees on more than 50 wax frames, whereas an observation hive will only house 3,000-5,000 bees on 2-5 frames (~20-30% will be out foraging up to 4 miles away when the weather is good). Though the hive produces honey, it rarely has surplus amounts, so it's best to leave it with the bees so they will have food for the winter.
The classroom observation hive is always anchored securely to a firm structure, either to the building itself or a heavy piece of furniture which is not easily moved. It is also attached to a stabilizing vertical frame. All windows separating the host room and outdoors must be screened. Dense and protective pieces of foam can also be placed over the observation widows to keep the bees in darkness and help them regulate their temperature better in the cooler months. |
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Within the classroom, the bees are always contained in the frame boxes, arranged so that individual frames can be seen from both sides and all the activities in the hive can be witnessed. One can also watch male drone bees exit through the tube to the outdoors to go find and mate with another colony’s new queen. Female worker bees will also exit, but only to find food, clear out dead bees, and to go to the bathroom. Resources they forage for include: water, nectar to make honey for carbohydrates to eat, pollen for protein to eat, and plant resins to make hive-weatherproofing propolis.
Management
When the hive is managed, only the beekeeper and assistants are present in the room. It is also done in the evening when students are not present.
In our modular system, each frame is contained in one box, screwed or bolted on top of other boxes. When a box needs to be removed, it is first unscrewed from the adjacent box. Then metal or plastic separators are slipped in between— one attached to the box above and one to the box below. Once this is done, the two boxes can be separated as individual units while the bees remain trapped inside. If changes need to be made within the boxes themselves, such as changing a frame or cleaning the glass, then that individual box can be taken outdoors and managed like an ordinary hive.
Installing or removing an entire hive from a location requires connecting or disconnecting the tube to the outdoors and some methods takes practice. Very occasionally a bee will slip out and fly to a source of light. As secondary precautions, the classroom doors should be closed and the lights turned off so that the bees will fly to a nearby windows and can be easy to catch. Alternatively, a mosquito net could be draped over the area of the hive to keep an escape artists contained.
Please read our "Get a Hive" and "Build & Maintain a Hive" pages for additional safety protocols and techniques for maintenance. If you need clarification or have further questions AFTER FULLY READING OUR WEBSITE, please Contact Us. (We sincerely thank you for your patience in waiting for a response- our volunteer staff is small and made of very busy but helpful (grand)parents/teachers/farmers/beekeepers/entrepreneurs. We all wear too many hats…)
In our modular system, each frame is contained in one box, screwed or bolted on top of other boxes. When a box needs to be removed, it is first unscrewed from the adjacent box. Then metal or plastic separators are slipped in between— one attached to the box above and one to the box below. Once this is done, the two boxes can be separated as individual units while the bees remain trapped inside. If changes need to be made within the boxes themselves, such as changing a frame or cleaning the glass, then that individual box can be taken outdoors and managed like an ordinary hive.
Installing or removing an entire hive from a location requires connecting or disconnecting the tube to the outdoors and some methods takes practice. Very occasionally a bee will slip out and fly to a source of light. As secondary precautions, the classroom doors should be closed and the lights turned off so that the bees will fly to a nearby windows and can be easy to catch. Alternatively, a mosquito net could be draped over the area of the hive to keep an escape artists contained.
Please read our "Get a Hive" and "Build & Maintain a Hive" pages for additional safety protocols and techniques for maintenance. If you need clarification or have further questions AFTER FULLY READING OUR WEBSITE, please Contact Us. (We sincerely thank you for your patience in waiting for a response- our volunteer staff is small and made of very busy but helpful (grand)parents/teachers/farmers/beekeepers/entrepreneurs. We all wear too many hats…)
Are observation hives safe? What about allergies?
As a secure and self-contained habitat, our observation hive design is never opened with students in the classroom and no bees can escape from it. When the hive is maintained, bees are kept locked in their individual units. Students with known bee venom allergies should always be notified about the hive's presence, but additional first aid measures have not been necessary since schools already have extensive safety and first aid protocols in place for food and insect allergies. Often allergic students appreciate the ability to see bees up close in a safe way!
I want to help. What can I do?
Great! Start by helping bees. Go plant some organic seeds and try not to put any gardening chemicals on them! Educate others about bees (especially politicians!). If you want to support Classroom Hives, tell others about us (especially beekeepers and teachers) by sharing our website. If you really want to go the distance and set up an observation hive in a classroom, then here are the suggested steps:
- Read the guide on our Get a Hive page.
- Read the DIY instructions on our Build & Maintain a Hive page.
- Contact us if you exhausted #1 and #2 and still have questions. If you need a site consultation or significant help, please budget for a consultation fee to cover time and expenses. If you are in the Boston area we also have premade hives for sale and beekeeping services for hire. We are a small nonprofit and run entirely by volunteers, so your patience and generosity is needed and most appreciated!
