A tropical beehive is proposed and a manufacturing process is described in details. Material cost of the beehive is about 4 US$ and therefore manufacturing cost gets covered multiple times during a single blooming season. The beehive protects a bee colony from tropical rains, overheating and moisture condensation inside the hive, predators, ants, giant hornets, lizards and toads. Service life duration of a beehive depends on weather conditions it is exposed to and under a shed it may last ten years or longer. While such a beehive is adapted for Asian Honey bees and humid tropics it can be used for European Honey bees in areas with moderate climate conditions too.

1. Tropical Beehive
for
poor people

3. Beekeeping in humid tropics is far more
complicated job than in areas of moderate climate.
A beehive has to protect a bee colony not only
from attacks of tropical ants, giant hornets, birds,
lizards, and toads but also from tropical rains,
overheating, and moisture condensation inside
the hive at colder nights.
If to consider that in the tropics soft wood gets
rotten and damaged by termites as well as other
wood boring insects while hard wood is expensive
– manufacturing of wooden beehives is
unpractical.

4. I propose a novel design of tropical beehives for
Asian honey bees Apis Cerana. Such beehives
were used at my apiary in Thailand for about 5
years. Cost of materials for the beehive is below 4
US$ while retail prices for one kg of honey in
Thailand are about 7 US$. So, the manufacturing
cost gets covered many times already during a first
season of beekeeping.
In this presentation I disclose in details the
manufacturing process.

6. A discarded canister for technical solvents of
about 18 liters in volume and of a square form in
its cross-section can be used as an outer shell of
the beehive. While manufacturing cost of a new
canister is up to 4 US$ it is possible to buy locally
a discarded one for a fraction of its cost. Actually,
such canisters are available in Thailand for about
0.50 US$.

8. With a grinder and a thin abrasive disc I cut two
square windows in upper and bottom sides of the
canister.
Then with a diamond disk and the grinder I cut a
sheet of a cement-wood composite material to
sets of plates of two types – wider and narrower
ones. Such a set of four plates for a single
beehive section is shown in the slide. The cement-
wood material is available in Thailand in various
sizes. Retail price of a sheet 2400 mm long 1200
mm wide an 4 mm thick is about 5 US$. Sets of
plates for 10 beehive sections can be cut from it.

10. The length of all four plates of the set corresponds to
the canister height as it is indicated by magenta
arrows in this slide. Width of two plates coincides with
sizes of square windows that I cut in the canister, as
it is shown by red arrows in the slide. While width of
other two plates from the set is selected from a range
between the window size and width of the canister
cross-section. As it is shown in the slide by violet
arrows. Actually, I use the width of about 20 mm
narrower than the canister width in its cross-section.

12. For heat isolation I use shredded husk of
coconuts and coir fibers. Coconut husks are
available in Thailand at no cost as a waste
material from coconut cultivation. In difference to
soft wood such material does not get rotten even
in moist conditions for dozens of years. Insects
and fungi do not damage it either. In the right side
of this slide there is a square pail with the heat-
isolating material.

14. There would be necessary to cut eight pieces
from a thin angle profile with length of the pieces
that corresponds to the window length and width
as it is shown in this slide by red arrows. They will
be used to fix the composite plates inside the
canister. Also there have to be used blind rivets
and a riveter tool that is a pop rivet gun, self-
cutting crews for sheet metal, a drilling tool with a
Li-ion battery, a right-angle ruler, and some other
instruments and accessories for metal working.

16. One wider composite plate from the prepared set I
lay on a fluffy layer of shredded coconut husk,
compress the layer of shredded husk by the plate
and fasten it in place by screws. As it is shown in
this slide.

18. The screws that are shown in this slide by yellow
arrows I replace one by one with blind rivets.

20. A sheet of the cement-cellulose composite
material has one smooth side while another side
is coarse. For convenience of assembling one
wider plate from the set of 4 plates is oriented by
its smooth side to the canister axis and another
plate by its coarse side.

22. A narrower composite plate from the set I insert
between two wider plates and drive it down by
hammering with a pierce of a heavy angular
profile that is shown by a magenta arrow in this
slide. One edge of the narrow plate stays in the
corner of the window while another side is sliding
along a smooth surface of the wider plate. When
in place the narrow plate is fixed similar to
described above.

24. When the second narrow plate is inserted and
hammered into its place it is also fixed with a thin
profile and blind rivets.
Thereby I produce a square pipe with outer shell
from the sheet metal of a canister and an inner
shell from the cement-cellulose composite
material. The inner shell is thermally isolated from
the outside shell by a thick layer of shredded
coconut husk. It ensures comfortable temperature
conditions and moisture content for a bee colony
inside the hive.

26. On one side of a beehive section I arrange 4
guiding bars that are cut from a galvanized steel
profile. Such a profile is commonly used as a
frame for installation of a so called dropped ceiling
or false ceiling. The bars are cut in length to fit
width of the canister cross-section and of the inner
shell as it is shown in this slide. Bees can build
combs from these bars and therefore their
preferential orientation is defined. I tried also to
use wooden bars but in Thailand they get
destroyed by wood boring insects in a matter of
months.

28. I secure guiding top bars in place with molten
wax. A piece of the bee wax is shown in this slide
by a turquoise arrow.

30. It is more productive to manufacture several
sections of a beehive step by step instead of one
after the another in sequence.

32. Every beehive needs a bottom section and an
attic section with a roof. Both sections I fill with
shredded coconut husk for heat isolation and
moisture regulation inside the hive. To produce
both sections I first cut off an upper part from
another canister so that height of the removed
part is equal to its width in the cross-section. The
rest of the canister is used for a bottom section of
the beehive. I fill the bottom part to the top with
shredded coconut husk and close by a square
plate from the composite material 4 mm in
thickness. After fastening of 4 hinges to the
bottom part – it is ready for use.

34. Then I cut to halves the upper part of the canister
along its vertical axis. If to put the two halves
together and fasten them with blind rivets we will
get a double layer roof and attic or garret for a
beehive.

36. This double layer attic section I fill by shredded
coconut husk to about half of its volume and cover
it from above by a square plate of the cement-
cellulose material having sizes about the sizes of
the canister cross-section.

38. On the set of 4 guiding bars I lay two stripes that
are cut from a cement-cellulose sheet of 6 mm in
thickness, as it is shown in this slide by black
arrows. It is recommended to fix these bars in
place also with molten wax. Then I cover the
beehive section with top bars and stripes by an
attic section, press the attic section down to
squeeze the layer of shredded husks in it, and
fasten the assembly with self-cutting screws.

40. An inside view of the inner shell of the beehive
with the attic section in place is shown in this
slide. The distance from the square plate in the
attic section to the guiding bars is about 6 mm.
Therefore bees may climb over the honeycombs.
If this distance exceeds 6 mm, the bees can fill
the space between the plate and the top bars with
honeycombs. Then disassembling of the hive for
inspection and harvesting of honeycombs will be
more complicated.

42. Orientation of three plates of the inner shell by
their coarse surfaces to inside the cavity is
important, as it is shown in the slide by white
arrows. Because bees may easily climb up along
such walls. Meanwhile, one wider plate of the
inner shell has to be oriented with a smooth side
inward, as it is shown in the slide by an orange
arrow, for easier assembling of the beehive
section.

44. A beehive is comprised from at least one beehive
section with an attic section, a bottom section,
and a spacer insert with a landing board. Such a
spacer insert is shown in this slide by an arrow of
a turquoise color.
While the optimum height of the spacer insert is 6
mm, I produce them from cement-cellulose plates
of 8 mm in thickness. Plates of 6 mm in thickness
appeared to be not strong enough.

46. A front plate of the insert serves as a landing
board of the hive and it is shown in this slide with
a yellow arrow. A rear plate of the insert is shown
with a purple arrow, and the spacer rails are
shown by a turquoise-colored arrow. Bees can
crawl out of the hive between the spacer rails in
both directions. As we may see, orientation of the
rear plate is mirror-symmetrical to the orientation
of the front plate of the spacing insert. This design
is used to block the rear exit from the hive if it is
necessary. For example, for a weak bee colony.

48. Two steel strips of thickness from 3 to 4 mm can
be used to suspend a beehive under a shed or
from a thick branches of a tree. With so solid
support the beehive will not swing violently in
strong blows of wind. In this slide, the hive is
equipped with such two side strips, which are also
fasten two hive sections together.

50. In the left side of this slide a hive is presented with a
bottom section directly fastened to the lower hive section.
Such an embodiment of a beehive is preferable for a bait
hive to catch feral swarms, because bees prefer to settle
in a spacious hive and do not like air drafts in the hive. In
the middle part of the slide a beehive is presented with
two hive sections and two separating inserts with landing
boards for bees. This embodiment of the hive is suitable
for a strong colony of bees. In this case, as the upper
section of the hive gets filled with honeycombs, it is
possible to close exits from the upper section to stimulate
the bees to use the lower landing board and to fill the
lower hive section with honeycombs.
In the right side of this slide a view of a bait hive is
presented in a backpack sack for transportation by a
motorcycle.

52. This slide presents an embodiment of the hive
assembled from just one hive section, the bottom
section and a separating insert between them.
Since thickness of the insert exceeds 6 mm that is
the optimal size the entrance is closed by a metal
plate with holes through which the bees may
freely enter and exit the hive, but lizards and giant
hornets can not penetrate into the hive. Such
protection is especially important for bait hives.

54. As mentioned above, if the hive is assembled
from two hive sections, the bottom section can be
fastened to the lower hive section without a
separating insert, as it is shown in this slide.

56. In this slide an embodiment of a beehive is
presented with two hive section and a separating
insert between them wherein the front entrance is
closed by a metal plate with holes for free
passage of bees.

58. The rear exit from the hive can be closed by a
piece of a thin angular profile, as it is shown in this
slide.

60. Otherwise, the rear entrance to the hive can be
opened for strong colonies of bees, to avoid
unnecessary traffic jam at the front entrance, as it
is shown in this slide.

62. Service life duration of a beehive section depends
on the weather conditions it is exposed to. In this
slide a section of a bait hive is shown which was
for a long time - about 6 years - placed outdoors
without any protection from tropical rains. Such a
section is no longer usable, but at least the inner
composite plates and the heat-insulating material
inside the hive can be re-used. While the cost of
the plates comprises about a half of the materials
cost of the beehive section, recycling of the plates
may considerably reduce expenses.

64. Asian bees are very sensitive to odors inside the
hive, so the use of foamed polystyrene and
polyurethane as thermal insulation instead of
natural materials can make the hive unusable.
For protection from rain and moisture, hives can
be painted on outside, but the cost of painting may
exceed the cost of a canister discarded by a local
shop. Also a rusty canister attracts less attention
to it. Thieves may be less interested to steal a bait
hive if it looks like a trash while bees would not
mind to live in such a hive. It is clean inside
anyway. Therefore, I believe that painting is not a
good idea. After all, even unpainted hives can last
longer than 10 years, being placed under a shed.

65. The proposed design of the hive provides
necessary protection for the bee colony in a
humid tropical climate. Manufacturing of such a
hive does not require expensive tools and
instruments while investments for manufacturing
get covered already in the first season of using
the hive. So, a beekeeper may tolerate an
occasional loss of bait hives and even poor
people in developing countries can produce the
beehives.

67. Thanks for your time to watch the video. Please,
ask your questions and do not forget that
beekeeping is not only an interesting hobby and a
way to earn some money but also a method to
extend longevity of your life. According to statistics
about a half of all persons who lived longer than
one hundred years were beekeepers.
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