Wintering in a Dartington - advice?

Hello. I'm a new beekeeper, and this is my first upcoming winter with bees. I've got 3 Dartingtons. Each colony is currently on 11 frames, which are now full of stores and a small amount of brood still. I've not taken honey from them this year, as I got the bees quite a way through the year so wanted them to settle and build up first.

I've read that I should move the frames to the middle of the hive, and put insulated boards each side. I think I should reduce to 9 frames? ANd also to remove the supers completely.

Is there anything else I should do? Advice from other Dartington owners/users would be gratefully recieved.

Regardless of what type of box you have, a hive of bees is a hive of bees. A little more information would be useful. How many frames of brood, and how many of stores? regardless of whether all eleven frames are full of one or the other - if they are full no need to take any out and no need to rearrangethem in any way - the bees have arranged them the way they want. Depending on how much stores are in the brood box (I imagine plenty by your post) then the supers should come off, and even if not, remove the queen excluder for the winter.
What have you done in way of varroa treatment?

Is this the more common 14 x12? Or the less comon 14 x 8 1/2?

No problem with leaving 11 frames. No problem with leaving supers full of stores as long as they are arranged vertically, not those silly (IMO) Dartington half-supers.

If 14 x 12 frames, there should sufficient stores, on a well provisioned hive, with 9 frames, but it is not really that important. The important things to consider are keeping the bees away from the entrance slot, care in sealing the top of the dividers (so heat is not lost from the cluster).

Robin Dartington's book on the hive would be an enlightening read. Another of the reasons for moving the cluster back, is to allow spring expansion simply by the beekeeper adding a frame at each end of the brood nest with minimal interference to the bees.

Aa simple, well thought-out hive. Not so popular, but only because they are not so easily transported. Some don't understand the nature of bees with a horizontal frame system - they don't like expanding horizontally ad finitum. I use standard supers on mine, sometimes at one end and occasionally in the centre with half-supers 'making up the space' to keep the roof even.

I always added extra insulation above the winter cluster as well. My second Dartington was made with a deeper roof for that very reason.

I also insulated either side of the cluster and sometimes on the sides of the hive, as well. Very early spring build-up if done properly.

RAB

oliver90owner said:

Aa simple, well thought-out hive.

Click to expand...

And a better more practical alternative to top bar hives in this country IMHO (could even make it longer and dispense with the supers methinks)

Only if you keep moving the honey frames to the back end. Many don't have the ability to extract 14 x12s.

RAB

I've built the 'common' 14x12 ones. I will leave all the brood frames alone then, apart from sliding them to the centre of the hive. Currently, they are occupying one half of the hive. I'll put a divider one one side, completely sealed from the closed rear entrance, and will fill the gap with insulation (I've got loads spare so might as well use it). I'll make sure the other divider near the open entrance is well sealed at the top. I could fill that space with insulation as well, leaving a passageway into the central cluster?

I've read Roger's instructions, but there's nothing like being able to talk to someone to checking my understanding, and getting additional hints and tips.

I've got a mix of half-supers and full supers. I've built some perspex feeders that slot into a half-super exactly, so I can look through the top but the bees can't get out. But I prefer the full supers generally.

I was planning on adding a slab of insulation above the cover boards as well. How do you insulate the outside? Just wrap it with insulation? Do you use slabs or flexible insulation for that?

I've apiguarded 2 of the colonies, and Hive Alived the other. One hive is currently going through a bit of a queen episode, so didn't want to put a full apiguard treatment in there as well. There was little varroa in the hives, and I'll treat later again with Oxalic.

Firstly, ignore Roger's (whoever he is) instructions; Robin is the expert.

I insulated the sides by cutting 50mm EPS to fit around the legs (mine are the 'country' style and fitted to allow transport using them like a stretcher) and secured with ratchet straps.

I did have one glitch which taught me a lot about insulation. One insulation sheet slipped on one of the two adjacent Dartingtons. The bees used all the stores from the warm side and then filled the ten or eleven frames with early brood - so I was left with frames with 50% ivy stores and 50% brood to sort out!

I like my Dartingtons. Far more than the plastic beetainer version.

RAB

Whoops! Robin, not Roger. Don't know why, but I always get those names mixed up

I always liked the design of the Dartingtons. They simply made sense to me. I bought the original plans from Robin years ago, but have only recently been able to keep bees. And they weren't that difficult to make either.

Whoops! Robin, not Roger.

I thought it might be that.

Yes, his instructions are good. I changed one or two details, like the legs being stopped horizontally when attached by a single bolt. My bolts were rather bigger than those listed and the end board dimensions may have been changed marginally. Making identical tapered legs took more time making a jig for the planer, than actually doing the job!

Robin's 'Manual of New Beekeeping' is a good read for a beginner. He is a bit heavy in places and many would not be able to transfer the very useful facts to alternative formats, but any thinking beekeeper would always benefit from it by increasing the knowledge and applicability of alternatives.

I never made any half supers for my second one, nor any more carry boxes. They have all been used for something at some time or another - a carry box and a half super make a good bait hive or even for overwintering a colony (with a roof fitted). As a bait hive, I hung 14 x12 frames from the super rails and put up with any wild comb in the bottom, generally. As I said earlier (I think) I made my roofs deeper to accommodate some EPS insulation. My third, not made by me, has a hinged roof. The roofs are a bit heavy, but I preferred the gabled option.

Top covers are around in the 230 width but also 460 and 690 have been used in the past. I fitted under-board runners so a board (or two bits) can be slid in partially during the winter or for monitoring purposes.

Regards, RAB