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DefiantDandelion 2y ago

Is a beehive on a floating raft a bad idea? Hear me out:

- Full Sun is easily achieved.

- Disrupts lifecycle of hive beetles.

- Source of water available and close.

- A moat for predators and excluding neighbors and kids.

- The hive raft could be pulled by a rope to shore or to the middle with a pulley system. Or to an edge for wind protection etc by season.

I know it’s not a slam dunk. Risk of sinking being catastrophic but what else?

Can the people with actual bee experience tell me why this is a dumb idea?

Thanks!

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Discussion

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Jo 2y ago

I think it's a cool idea! 😎 🐝

Try it.

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Sir Libre 2y ago

I think it's definitely worth trying.

If love to hear the results

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HODL 2y ago

What’s the worst case scenario? Drown a couple thousand bees? I say go for it lol

b4
nobody 2y ago

Sting the fishes

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Rafa ⚡🌿🌴𓆏 2y ago

Sounds like a good idea minus the floating part. Why not just on stilts in water? Like up to your knees.

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BitBurn 2y ago

^^^ this... Hives full of honey are dead heavy. Stilts is a better idea.

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Rafa ⚡🌿🌴𓆏 2y ago

Heavy AF and bees don't like movement. In Africa they use hanging hives connected by wires to get the bees to attack elephants that try to enter valuable crop areas.

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DefiantDandelion 2y ago

I could easily have underestimated the movement thanks for the stilts idea. My understanding is the hive could be 100Lbs ish. Which is heavy but I was imaging something enough to hold a man anyways. Like a floating dock. Message received on the movement.

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Rafa ⚡🌿🌴𓆏 2y ago

Great idea bro. Good luck. If you do it post the pics. 🥂🥂

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J 2y ago

Stilts could work. My initial concern is the constant movement of the hive if floating. Bees will probably bolt. Not only this, but good luck wading out to the stilted hive in a bee suit. 😂

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J 2y ago

Kind of unrelated.. but the surface tension of water is enough for bees to land on. It’s pretty cool.

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DefiantDandelion 2y ago

I originally I was imagining a person would just stand on a floating dock type of raft and they could pull themselves to the hive or pull the hive to themselves.

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DefiantDandelion 2y ago

Stilts are a good idea. 👍 will definitely consider it. The theoretical mobility of the hive on the water was a positive but I if the movement on the raft disrupts them then it’s probably irrelevant.

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LA⚡️H 2y ago

What is your climate?

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DefiantDandelion 2y ago

USDA zone 6a. 4 seasons. cool to cold temperate. Winter would probably expect some ice to form on the pond but not enough to walk on.

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LA⚡️H 2y ago

Just my opinion here…it’s a really cool idea, but the moisture created inside the structure of the colony would create obstacles

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DefiantDandelion 2y ago

Thanks for the feedback. Would you hesitate to put a beehive near a pond for the same reason? I would expect the microclimate around the pond will be more humid due to evaporation but I’m not certain how much. Is there a humidity goal with beehives? 40%-60%?

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LA⚡️H 2y ago

In my humble opinion, as long as the area around the pond doesn’t have stagnant air, your good. In the wild, bees live in trees and the air is fresh and well circulated.

Honeybees are masters of airflow and they’ll maintain hive humidity to their liking. I try to let the bees be bees as much as possible and mimic a habitat they thrive in.

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DefiantDandelion 2y ago

Thanks! What do you use for your bees?

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Ryan 2y ago

I have no beekeeping experience, but that sounds like a genius idea Haha