Leave bees in cabinet or move to super?

[omnimirage]

This person who's been helping me with some beekeeping, really wants to set up some bees at his holiday country get away shack. I'm not interested in turning it into an apiary site, because it's a bit out of the way, and it has rather low bio-diversity; I see that, the location is largely populated by only a couple variety of trees, that honey flow would boom when these trees would flower, but they'd go many months where there'd be little honeyflow. Moving hives is a pain for me and not something I want to do routinely.

Now a beehive has happened to swarm into this big square wooden bin, that has rubbish piled underneath. The bees had drawed many lines of comb, full of honey and brood. I could pull out the comb and move it to a super, as it's not particulary stuck down, but I believe quite a number of bees will drown in honey.

I ended up moving the whole box, and putting a lid on it. I'd like to keep a tesst hive up there, to see how they perform over the year, and to keep my friend happy. I don't plan on checking it regulary, nor extracting honey from it.

Can I then just leave them in the box that they're in? Or would it be best to put them into a proper super with pull out frames?

[Perry]

I don't know what the legality is there, but here bees must be kept on removable frames for inspection purposes. That said, if it were me and the law didn't stipulate, in your scenario I would leave them in the box they are in for a year.

[Jen]

I agree with Perry, why upset how they are already building their home if your not interested in the honey or expanding an apiary, or they aren't a nuisance to neighbors.

One thing that just occurred to me... How about mite treatments? I think that may be the only thing I would do, somehow arrange to keep the bees healthy. Like if there was a way to scoot a oxalic vaporizer under the box where the colony is. It would be nice to give that hive a couple treatements, maybe three, in the Fall so the bees would come out of winter healthy.

[omnimirage]

It is illegal to keep bees here in a hive that hasn't got pull out frames. I'm not so concerned about such though, as it's in a secluded, isolated area.

The area may be susceptible to small hive beetle. Having pull out frames would be good to inspect such, but in all honestly, the hive will be checked very irregularly, chances are if it gets SHB then it'd die way before anyone inspects it.

The opening on this box is coincidentaly enough more or less the same size of a super. I actually put a beehive lid (with some tin) on top of it. I'm thinking that, maybe I should just put a new super on top of it? The bees will slowly move, and expand into the new honey super, might make it easier to remove them from the bin when I go to do so.

I'm wanting to set up a trap hive next to it also. Might the bees from this hive, swarm into the trap hive if I did so?

[robo]

I don't know what the legality is there, but here bees must be kept on removable frames for inspection purposes.

When is the last time you heard of a non-beekeeper getting into "trouble"  for having a swarm in their building that is not is removable frames?

[Perry]

I don't know what the legality is there, but here bees must be kept on removable frames for inspection purposes.

When is the last time you heard of a non-beekeeper getting into "trouble"  for having a swarm in their building that is not is removable frames?

Heck, I even know of a beekeeper or two that keep bees in a non traditional set-up.

[apisbees]

If you put the bees in a non removable frame hive then you may be breaking the law. If the bees have decided on a cavity as their colony and as a beekeeper we choose not to transfer them, is the beekeeper managing this colony or just letting them do their own natural thing.
I am a beekeeper so I would transfer them into modern equipment. But that is just me.

[Barbarian]

Omni .... You may wish to rethink your plan for a trap hive /bait hive / swarm box.

If the cabinet colony swarms, it is unlikely that the swarm will go into a box next to the cabinet. Swarms seem to like a new location away from the parent colony. It is possible that another swarm may come to the cabinet location but I would suggest that there should be some separation between the bait hive and the cabinet colony.

There is a lot of information on this site about how and where to set up a bait hive.

As a mentor it can be advisable to keep a little distance between yourself and the beginner. On occasion, a mentor can end up working a hive for the beginner.