Merioneth Beekeepers' Association

Saturday 13 February 2010

Photograph

Dr David Heaf talked to the Association on 'Sustainable Beekeeping' focusing on the Warré hive. Dr Heaf is a retired research biochemist and beekeeper who has specialised in these hives and has written extensively on them.

Warré hives differ from the hives normally used in the UK in that they more closely mimic the natural inclination of bees in how they organise their nests. All the boxes are the same size, the topmost covered by a hessian cloth and then insulated with wood shavings or something similar. No frames are used, just topbars which hold the natural combs.

Photograph

Bees first fill the top box with comb, brood and stores and then move down into the box below. As further boxes are needed they are added from below. The top box is used to harvest the honey. Using the structure in this way maintains heat in the hive and causes the least disruption to the bees.

For more information, a link to Warré beekeeping is here .