Bee Box

The bee box is used for triangulation, or beelining.  The best time to use the box is when there are many bees foraging . . . the morning and early afternoon (at least in most places). If you can't spot a line of bees going in and out of a nest, then you should try to start a line going yourself using the bee box.

It works best when the bees feed on a sugar syrup that is just starting to turn thick, which is around 50% sugar. This you can make by heating sugar and water mixed in about equal volumes, then adding a bit more sugar. When the lower chamber is opened to allow the bees access to the comb, they will feed inside the box. Getting them into it first is up to you. After you have trapped about 10 bees in the box and they have fed on the sugar solution, you simply open the box and they will make a beeline for their nest. (Bees fly in a straight line, thus the origin of the word beeline.) If they are excited about feeding . . . "Hey, forget the nectar and follow me to a source that is pretty close to honey already and will save us some work." They will bring more bees back from the hive, and then you have a line of recruits. If just one bee you've trapped on a flower takes off toward its hive well, you'd better have a clear line of sight to see which direction she's headed.  By watching the bees against the sky, it is possible to determine the general direction of the wild honey tree.

After a few round trips to the hive, you are ready to time a bee and see how long she is gone.  In order to do this, it is necessary to identify an individual bee.  From a piece of blue carpenter's chalk, scrape some dust and moisten with a few drops of water.  With a tiny soft paint brush dab the rear of a loading bee.  This must be done deftly and gently as I don't imagine bees like to be painted.  You now have an identifiable bee and can time her.  Allowing two minutes to unload in the hive, the balance of the time, divided by two will give the distance based on a speed of about five minutes per mile.  At this point, re trap a quantity of bees and after moving the estimated distance in the determined direction, repeat the above procedure.  If the direction of the hive appears to be reversed, the tree has been passed, and if it is not readily found triangulation can be performed by repeating the process from a point left or right of the beeline.  Having located the bee tree, all that remains is to remove the honey!

What we have here is a very nicely made two compartment 19th C. Bee Box, complete with a comb.  The box is made of walnut with a sliding glass top.,  It is fastened with square nails and is in very fine condition with a nice dry surface.  It measures 6-3/4" long x 4" wide and 3-7/8" high.  A fascinating link to another time when, if you wanted a sweetener, you had to track it down and harvest it.

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Questions?  Ask the Ferret!