Subject: Spacing of hives

From: [email-masked] (Peter Wolfe)
Date: 19 Mar 1996 01:44:47 GMT

As a rank beginner I am siting 5 hives and would appreciate any any 
suggestions on the spacings of same.   Plan to place on a moderate slope 
on redwood 4x4s but am concerned about the distance between hives 
necessary to work them solo.   Also any comments on pure spar varnish for 
painting.   Am located on edge of Calif Central Valley with about 10 day 
/ year of 100 degree plus weather.  Water close by.     Thanks

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From: [email-masked] (Joel Govostes)
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 07:45:53 -0500

> / year of 100 degree plus weather.  Water close by.     Thanks

Hives arranged as pairs, 2 per stand, is a nice way to work.  The distance
between them on a stand I use is say 8-10 inches.  Between stands 4-10
feet to save time carrying stuff.  With pairs you don't disturb other
colonies with vibrations, and can work from both sides.  As far as wood
treatments, I prefer Cuprinol, which can be the clear or light green
color.  I use brown, but there are more cool than hot days in upstate NY. 
Sounds like you'll have some good solid stands in a desirable location.

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From: [email-masked] (Joel Govostes)
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 07:45:53 -0500

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From: Gisborne_Design <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 24 Mar 1996 19:37:31 -0800

> / year of 100 degree plus weather.  Water close by.     Thanks

If space is at a premium, place the hives in pairs (side by side, with 
about a foot between them) with about 4 feet between the pairs. This 
gives you room to reach each hive from one side, back & front. If you
are going to have hives in front of others, keep about 10-15 feet clear
in front of the hives to give you room to work on the hives in front
while the the bees can circle down to the hives behind. If you are on a
slope maybe this won't matter if the bees behind can can fly straight
out their entrance over your head while you work on the hive in front.
If by spar varnish you mean a clear finish, I would suggest having some 
supers painted a solid color (yellow, grey or white) mixed in with the 
supers that are finished clear so that the bees can recognize the pattern
of their own hive, sort of like our address system. Bees relate readily
to patterns and it makes sense to take this into account because if the
prevailing wind is across the row of hives, drifting of workers down the
row can be controlled somewhat if the bees can see clearly where they 
should end up.