A wooden hive would not survive very long in the raw state, i.e. untreated wood, so chance select paints were chosen from remnants found in the shed. External gloss wood/metal paints are recommended so I selected a simple white as the base colour coat and a cream for the roof metal and other small details. First, however, a water based primer was used to prime all external surfaces as well as the top and bottom edges of all hive structural components. Internal surfaces were not treated. As a ‘landing board’ is not provided as part of the hive kit, one was cut from scrap architrave. This has a tapered face which will hopefully serve to shed the rain and keep water from entering the hive while at the same time allow restful queuing of returning bees while they wait to enter the hive.
(All images credit: Vincent Casey)
Finishing touches.
A finger sized cable/pipe tie was added to the base board to serve as an improvised handle to facilitate easy removal and checking.
Hopefully the hive is now ready for transfer to the apiary at Knockainey where it will become the new home for the Sophia spin out coloney.