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An Indoor Beehive in My Bedroom Wall
- userbinator 1y agoThis gets a solid "nope" from me, and probably everyone else who has a memory of a very painful sting in their past.
- bigstrat2003 1y agoYeah, I have no particular animus towards bees but they terrify me. Without a doubt the thing I'm most afraid of on this earth. I would be a nervous wreck if I had this in my home.
- teddyh 1y agoYou might secretly be an elephant.
- johnisgood 1y agoYou should check out some creatures living deep in the ocean. I cannot remember the name, but Lord, they terrify me. It looks like a centipede (ugh), and the way it catches fish is wild. I do not think I am referring to deep-sea amphipod though, but that is wild, too. The ocean is full of terrifying creatures. Bees are lovely in comparison. Thoughts on centipedes though?
- phyzome 1y agoI've been stung a number of times by bees and wasps, but I still find them fascinating, and I would love to have one of these in my wall.
- SoftTalker 1y agoHoneybees aren’t very aggressive with stings. Yellowjackets in the other hand are vicious if you’re disturbing their nests in any way. Any that establish themselves near my house will be dispatched with as soon as I notice them.
- retsibsi 1y ago> Honeybees aren’t very aggressive with stings. Depends on the bees! I was always pretty relaxed about bees, until a hive at my house turned mean. They would sting us just for daring to be near them, and by 'near' I don't mean we were approaching the hive -- just walking past it, or doing some gardening several metres away.
- worthless-trash 1y agoAustralian natives sting is very minor, maybe even stingless. I've had to move them out of my water main box, thing, in the thousands without getting bitten once and only using latex gloves.
- cryptonector 1y agoAfricanized bees can be extremely aggressive.
- giantg2 1y agoI have bees and it gets a nope from me for the inconvenience and potential damage factor. If it were better constructed, maybe. Bees can potentially bend the plexiglass or chew holes in the wood to escape. There are better designs out there.
- nkrisc 1y agoI would classify a bee sting as more of an irritating pain, like a stubbed toe.
- jader201 1y agoYou must not be allergic, then, because it lasts a lot longer than a stubbed toe, and much more painful than simply “irritating”. I’d rather stub my toe 10 times than get stung by a bee — well, maybe not the same toe. :)
- cryptonector 1y agoOne bee sting's effects will last about five days, give or take. A dozen bee stings' effects will last about two weeks, give or take a few days. A hundred bee stings is life-threatening. All that w/o allergies.
- technothrasher 1y agoWhen I was a kid and used to hay the fields on our farm in the summers, I would get stung quite a bit from the ground wasps being kicked up by the hay bailing machines. I got so used to it that it would literally be like a mosquito bite. Annoying for less than 30 seconds. That was years ago, and my tolerance for stings isn't that high any longer. But even today a sting will be bothersome for maybe ten minutes, and within an hour the reaction will be gone completely.
- cryptonector 1y agoBees sting with a lot more poison than wasps. That's because their stingers are barbed and if they pierce far enough into your skin the stinger and its poison bag and poison pumping muscle will not leave your skin unless you pull it. The bee will fly away, but in doing so it will rip its guts out and later die. The stinger will then pump way more poison into you than a wasp would -- the wasp's stinger is not barbed.
- cryptonector 1y ago
- snickerbockers 1y agoJesus, I clicked expecting a big post about carpenter bees and found something far, far worse.
- cryptonector 1y agoI would love one of these in my bedroom. I adore the sounds of bees. It's very relaxing.
- Freak_NL 1y agoI don't hate bees. At all. But the aggregated buzzing sound of a lot of tiny buzzy insects means one thing to me as homeowner: wasps found ingress and a nest was built somewhere in your house. It is a sound I do not want to hear anywhere near my house, because you can't let them be, and getting rid of them is a damn stupid chore which more often than not involves dismantling part of the house to even get at them. I did this once, and that was enough (didn't get stung though).
- fhdkweig 1y agoAnd you can't just poison them either. It leaves a wall full of honey that the cockroaches will find and feast for months or years. The whole hive has to be completely physically removed.
- ThatMedicIsASpy 1y agoAs I've helped my beekeeping grandpa over the years I disagree. I've been stung twice (around thousands of bees) and both times they flew into my hair and could not get out. I still do not like honey - unless I use it for cooking.
- snickerbockers 1y agoHow did the ancients come to view beehives as a sign of prosperity? Did they actually understand that bees play a necessary role in plant reproduction cycles?
- danielbln 1y agoHoney is yummy, and very sweet. Not something that's easily come by in the days of yore. Maybe that's enough to give it a special status, a golden extremely tasty goop that's protected by a bunch of spicy yellow flies.
- astura 1y agoHoney.
- rcxdude 1y agoYes. The ancient egyptians kept a lot of bees and moved the hives up and down the Nile with the seasons to help pollenate crops.
- comrade1234 1y agoWell, at least it's not hornets.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- MarcusE1W 1y agoWe had hornets for a summer in a tree in front of the house once. They mostly kept for themself and absolutely no wasps in that year.
- dumbmrblah 1y agoThis year I put a beehive in my backyard. I can sit for hours (not really, minutes more likely) just staring at them working, going in and out of the hive. Maybe in a year or two I'll actually get honey.
- teddyh 1y agoI like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. — Jerome K. Jerome
- banksybugg 1y agoThe saying goes: “your first jar of honey costs $1,000.” Good luck in your first season!
- accrual 1y ago> For now, it feels good to know that behind me stand centuries of bee-lovers who have had the joy of listening to the hymns of bees far into the night and smelled the intoxicating aroma of honey and propolis waft out across the room before the dawn light begins. I wonder what that's like. Is it just another nice smell, like coffee brewing while sunlight hits your face?
- otherme123 1y agoMy grandpa had one of these (the traditional they talk about), and the smell fades away. I guess it smells like honey to everyone visiting, but for you isn't there.
- cryptonector 1y agoIt's an indescribably wonderful smell. I love the smell of my beekeeping outfit, which also includes smoke from my smoker (the beehives themselves don't smell of smoke though). You can buy propolis products and get a very slight idea. You might want to take a class in beekeeping, one where they take you to do some actual hive inspections. You'll need a beekeeper's suit.
- quinnjh 1y agoThis article is a great introduction to the topic of indoor (or rather in-wall) beehives, which I was curious about after seeing a father-son duo construct an impressive setup with hexagonal 3D printed enclosures. The authors voice is very enjoyable. Give it a read if you have a few mins
- gorfian_robot 1y agohmm. bee's can easily cause a lot of damage inside your walls. not sure how this is avoided.
- schwartzworld 1y agoIf the space is sealed, how would they get into the walls?
- hasbot 1y agoCarpenter bees tunnel into wood.
- HelloMcFly 1y agoAn interior space like this could easily be lined with a more durable material. They also would be easily observed, and wouldn't occupy the space if a queen has taken residence, even if it did it would be quickly crowded out.
- hinkley 1y agoCarpenter bees wouldn’t be hanging out with honey bees.
- giantg2 1y agoTechnically the bees don't cause much damage. They will do things like remove insulation. Fermented honey, moisture, ants, wax moths, etc are all more damaging but technically a result of the bees. At least in an observation hive you can see what's happening before it spreads.
- HappMacDonald 1y agoJust makes me wonder what Erika Thompson's take on this project would be
- quantadev 1y agoMade me realize for the first time Bees are the only insect that most people don't find disgusting. I mean we literally eat what they create: Honey. It would be fascinating to watch them build their hives.
- SoftTalker 1y agoI think there must be others. Butterflys? Fireflies? Ladybugs?
- quantadev 1y agoI stand corrected. You found 3 more. :) And I like Praying Mantises because I think they're probably secretly alien robots. I wonder if biologists have ever taken one apart to see if they're truly biological or a machine. I've seen one take down a humming bird, so it's gotta be some kinda machine bro.
- tcoff91 1y agoDragonflies are kinda cool too, and mantis.
- Terr_ 1y agoWhile they are admittedly not insects, I feel jumping-spiders deserve an honorable mention.
- cryptonector 1y agoJumping spiders are adorable.
- AngryData 1y agoI would think that was mostly because of the relation bees have to honey and all the wonderful imagery and thoughts people have about honey. But there is also a lot of general cultural tradition in bee keeping going back atleast 5,000 years.
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- giantg2 1y agoThe comb doesn't look like it's on frames. The vast majority of states require comb to be on a frame or top bar to be capable of being inspected. There are plans online for in-wall mounted observation hives that would be much better than this.
- wredcoll 1y agoWait, what? Inspected by whom? How often? Who requires this??
- ajdude 1y agoIn my state, routine inspections are required by a State Apiarist: > All honeybee colonies must be registered and inspected for diseases, mites, and Africanized bees. Surveys are conducted for Africanized bees along Delaware’s coastal anchorages and in the Ports of Wilmington and Delaware City. By law, the State Apiarist and state bee inspectors may enter any public or private premises and have access to and from all apiaries or places where bees and bee equipment are kept to inspect them for pests and diseases. The State Apiarist may also declare a quarantine and order the destruction or treatment of hives for serious pest or disease situations. https://agriculture.delaware.gov/plant-industries/honeybees/ https://agriculture.delaware.gov/plant-industries/honeybees/
- 55555 1y agoMy brain is so rotted from the news that I can’t read this and not think it’s some sort of bee racism. Is this related to averting nationwide colony collapse? Seems like government overreach to my uninformed self.
- durkie 1y agoThere are bee diseases that are so serious (American foulbrood) that if your hive gets it then the dept of agriculture will come out and not leave until you burn the affected hives. It is super infectious and can cause massive commercial damage if allowed to spread.
- jader201 1y ago> they sing me to sleep I read this at first as “sting” and was briefly horrified. But bees singing is still, to me, quite horrifying, and would not at all help me fall asleep.
- yboris 1y agoVideo detailing a technique to grow bees in bottles (easy indoor installation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItlOFLTUAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItlOFLTUAs by Advoko MAKES
- cryptonector 1y agoI learned some really interesting things from the author's replies in the comments at TFA.
- JimDabell 1y agoI think this is great. Just the other day I saw this thread about a kid who 3D printed a hive for his bedroom: https://www.threads.com/@bryanmarktaylor/post/DLXdzZzgcRr https://www.threads.com/@bryanmarktaylor/post/DLXdzZzgcRr It seems to be based on this design: https://www.beeamond.com/ https://www.beeamond.com/
- paranoidrobot 1y agoIf the idea of inside /obervation bee hives interests you, you might enjoy the Youtube channel run by Frederick Dunn. He has an observation hive built into the wall of his recording studio. It's quite a relaxing channel to watch. https://youtube.com/@FrederickDunn https://youtube.com/@FrederickDunn
- maxglute 1y agoNeat, reminds me of when I all I wanted was a interior antfarm wall after playing too much sim ants. Cursory research and bummed antfarms aren't nearly as cool in real life.
- Lio 1y ago> Cursory research and bummed antfarms aren't nearly as cool in real life. For the uninitiated, what is a "bummed antfarm"?
- analog31 1y agoObligatory Onion reference, one of my all time favorites: https://theonion.com/ant-farm-teaches-children-about-toil-death-1819565648/ https://theonion.com/ant-farm-teaches-children-about-toil-de...
- pstuart 1y agoOuch. Thank you!
- Loughla 1y agoSim ant also made me get an ant farm. That's hilarious. I went out and dug up a big black and nest to find the queen and put her and some workers in my farm. Apparently that caused some kind of peasant revolt, because they killed her the first day. 0/10 experience for young me. Luckily Sim Copter didn't have the same effect on me.
- loa_in_ 1y agoCould Stonehenge be a beekeeping prospect?
- nanna 1y agoExplain?
- mhb 1y agoA leaf cutter ant colony would also be nice. Not easy to get a queen into the US for hobbyist use though.
- y-curious 1y agoI just looked this up out of curiosity. These ants cut pieces of leaves off, store them and use them to grow fungus. They then eat the fungus. This is very cool
- whartung 1y agoIt gets better. When the tree has had enough of getting eaten alive by ants, it starts producing a compound that will now damage the fungus instead of help it grow, in order to convince the ants to leave it alone.
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- chasil 1y agoPhilips Corporation had a concept for this a decade ago. https://newatlas.com/philips-beehive-concept/20412/ https://newatlas.com/philips-beehive-concept/20412/
- pryelluw 1y agoHow do you keep them safe from other insects and pests? How does this affect pest control within the home?
- mark-r 1y agoMy grandmother had a swarm of bees living in the outer wall of her porch. It never occurred to my young mind that she might have done it on purpose!
- pstuart 1y agoThere was a very large bee colony in the walls of a neighboring house that was in disrepair, and it would emit swarms on a regular basis - which prompted me to capture one and get it in a hive so I could join in the beekeeping adventure. It was a failure and a lesson learned: bees like sunny locations that can help keep their hive warm, and a shaded yard will not hold them long -- they will abscond.
- millzlane 1y agoThis was a cool read. Thanks for sharing.reminds me of the first time I saw a beehive as a city boy. It was a indoor wall hive at the West River UM summer camp near DC.
- jprd 1y agoWhen I was growing up, I was always fascinated by a very similar installation at the Educational Center at the Five Rivers [1] park in Upstate NY. The whole point of the place is to walk trails and watch the wildlife in different natural NY environments in the area, concentrated in one park. The bees were always the first and last thing for me. [1] https://dec.ny.gov/places/five-rivers-center https://dec.ny.gov/places/five-rivers-center
- cafard 1y agoA tech writer I worked with many years ago said that once during his adolescence he heard a humming from the exterior wall of his bedroom. This proved to be a beehive between the siding and the installation. He found that a bit creepy.