Less than a mile from my house lives anthroposophist and Master Beekeeper Ron Breland. Ron has some wild looking beehives. Bees don’t naturally prefer squared boxes with regular frames, and Ron is experimenting with a some alternative beehive styles. The truth is that bees evolved to live in hollow tree trunks or natural cavities in cliffs. The hives that I use are convenient for me, and not the bees. They bees, though, seem to like them well enough and thrive, but they might do as well in one of Ron’s hives or a hollow tree.
The video here is a little new age whifty for my tastes, and in my conversations with Ron he comes across more reasoned and thoughtful than he seems here.
I will be using my store bought hives again this year and I hope the weather is better and the bees thrive. I want to spend some time and perhaps, with experience, I can go Ron one better with an interesting hive design. I like the sculptural and architectural aspects of his hives and I think I might find a practical, but interesting approach to the same problem.
