{"id":13092,"date":"2022-07-21T09:44:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T07:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=86644"},"modified":"2022-07-21T10:29:16","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T08:29:16","slug":"wild-bee-hives-become-a-bee-watcher-rather-than-a-bee-keeper","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/wild-bee-hives-become-a-bee-watcher-rather-than-a-bee-keeper\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild bee hives: become a bee watcher rather than a bee keeper"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Alys Fowler\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 21 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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There is something very gently animated about Matt Somerville\u2019s Hampshire workshop. Around the edge chickens roam<\/a> through flowering meads and long grass<\/a>, and a little farther away, against a backdrop of beech trees swaying in the wind, is a group of tall, wooden sculptures that are distinctly alive in design.<\/p>\n

With their pointy hats and long ambling limbs these structures look as though they might march off through the meadows<\/a> and into woods at any minute. But move\na little closer, slow down and really look, and you see that they are alive in another, unexpected way, as swathes of bees alight and take flight. For these aren\u2019t really sculptures at all, but bee hives<\/a> made from hollowed-out logs and perched above head height so you can watch the bees without disturbing their flight path.<\/p>\n

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Honeybees at work, cleaning the base board of one of Matt\u2019s hives. It is coloured orange with propolis, an antiviral, resinous mixture that bees use to seal their hives.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

These quirky rocket hives have charm but they also have a practical, scientific, even philosophical, purpose. The bees that live in them are wholly autonomous, you don\u2019t get to manipulate them or for that matter take any honey. Each hive is fashioned from a single log (roughly 1m x 50cm) of Douglas fir or larch, which Matt hollows out using first a chainsaw then a long gouge, leaving a 10cm wall for vital insulation. Matt adds holes to let the bees in and out, a reed hat or waterproof membrane for more insulation, and a removable base so hive owners can keep an eye on the colony, but nothing else. Everything, is designed to allow bees to be bees and form strong, healthy colonies capable of coping with varroa, viruses and other pathogens. \u201cMany things in honey-driven beekeeping are against bee health,\u201d Matt explains. \u201cThe shape of the hives is wrong, and the practise is only efficient because of feeding bees sugar to replace the honey taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Matt, assisted by Spencer Upton, adds the sockets to a hive body into which he can bolt the bevelled legs. These can either be stag oak or sweet chestnut, both of which are high in tannin so they last a long time.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Matt used to keep bees<\/a> that way himself. Although, by profession he\u2019s as a cabinet maker, he studied agriculture at college and it\u2019s still in his blood. Shortly after he and his wife Emily moved to Hampshire he bought a cider orchard where in spring he loved to lie on the grass listen to the bees buzzing in the blossom<\/a>. Until one day he couldn\u2019t hear them. He\u2019d read about the decline in bee numbers and felt compelled to do something, so he signed up for a beekeeping course.<\/p>\n

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Freestanding log hives are topped by a reed hat, known as a hackle, to provide insulation and keep the rain off. Reed is more durable than wheat straw, and regular cutting and harvesting improves the biodiversity of the reed beds by ensuring the willows don\u2019t become dominant.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cLike many people, I got into beekeeping thinking that it was a way to help out,\u201d he says. \u201cAt that point I didn\u2019t know about all the chemicals, the suppressing of swarming and the manipulating.\u201d Then around 12 years ago he had what he describes as his Damascene moment. One day one of his hives swarmed, so he chased after it, and saw that when the swarm came to a tree with a long slit the bees went in. \u201cAll I\u2019d heard was that bees couldn\u2019t survive in the wild,\u201d he says, \u201cbut it wasn\u2019t true. I knew then what I needed to be doing to help the bees.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Matt and Spencer winch up the hive body so they can bolt on the 2.4m stag oak legs. These raise the hive to a height at which the bees like to nest.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Reading Honeybee Democracy<\/em> by bee expert Thomas Seeley added science to what he had observed. One of Seeley\u2019s ideas is that bees like to nest at around 4-5m high, which corresponds to the height at which larger branches often rot away, creating a hole in the trunk. \u201cIt\u2019s why bees like eaves in a roof,\u201d says Matt. It\u2019s also why Matt\u2019s hives can also be strapped to a mature tree, where they can be left largely undisturbed. Our instinct to marvel at the architecture of combs is strong, but if you have to get a ladder to do so you\u2019re less likely to meddle.<\/p>\n

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Using a long chisel, Matt cuts flat sockets into which the bevelled legs will sit<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

For those without a suitable tree, Matt\u2019s rocket hives offer the ideal opportunity to stand and watch. And both types of hives have now found their way into everywhere from farms and orchards to schools and prisons, and a great many gardens<\/a> both large and small. As well as making the hives Matt also installs them advising customers on the best position for their hive, which is normally an open glade or the edge of a wood. He also uses a few tricks, such as fitting a portion of old comb, and rubbing the wood with propolis and lemongrass, to encourage the bees to make this their home. This can take several weeks or as little as an afternoon, but once the bees find the hive the rewards are greater than any honey.<\/p>\n

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Matt collects reed for a hackle, which each require Matt sources from the Norfolk broads.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s lovely to watch in the summer, in the evening when they come out to fan and there\u2019s this gentle hum,\u201d says Matt. \u201cIt\u2019s something that you don\u2019t really get to experience with a hive on the ground. Watching bees has also changed the way I garden. You start by focusing on the flowers<\/a> but if you learn to look, you\u2019ll see the flower is alive with life. That\u2019s what bees teach \u2013 how to become a bee watcher rather than a bee keeper.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A selection of Matt\u2019s tools, which include long framing chisels for cutting the long sockets, a baton for ensuring the sockets are flat and a wooden mallet.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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The bottom of a hive has a removable base so that infrequent inspections can be made to check bee health.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

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Matt hollows out the centre of the log leaving an outer edge of around 10cm, which is essential to keep the hive well insulated. \u201cIt\u2019s calculated that it takes ten per cent of the colony\u2019s energy to keep warm or cool,\u201d explains Matt.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Matt begins by taking a square core out of the log with a chainsaw then finishes hollowing out by hand. He uses a gouge on a long pole made specially for him by master blacksmith, Hector Cole.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

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An established colony of honeybees sits on a comb they have filled to the bottom of a hive. Each hive can hold up to around 40,000 bees.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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The log hives have three entrance holes. Bees tend to use the top hole most often as an entrance and the bottom one for fanning to help cool the hive and remove excess C02 during hot weather.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Matt carefully removes the base of a hive to inspect the colony. His log hives can either be strapped to an existing tree or free standing on a tripod of legs for easy positioning in meadows and gardens.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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One of Matt\u2019s rocket hives sitting in his Hampshire garden. Its wonderfully gnarled legs are either made either from stag oak or sweet chestnut he sustainably sources from the Weald of Kent. It\u2019s important to Matt that all elements of his hives are sustainably sourced; it\u2019s important for the sustainability of the woodlands too, as regular coppicing lets in the light.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

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Find out more about Matt\u2019s freedom hives at beekindhives.uk<\/a> and follow him on Instagram @_beekindhives_<\/a><\/p>\n

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Head to our guide on how to make a wildlife garden.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This feature appeared in the July issue of Gardens Illustrated.<\/em> Subscribe to the magazine here.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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