Propolis Producing Hives - Log hives

Propolis producing hives!
Hives are known to produce honey, wax, propolis, pollen, royal jelly and bee venom.

But some items are produced according to the set up of the hive and the required equipments specifically designed to harvest pollen, royal jelly and bee venom. All bee hives are expected to produce all the mentioned products but some hives are more competent than others. For example langstroth hives are good for harvesting pollen when you have the traps / collectors than Kenyan topbar hives.

Therefore log hives are more productive when it comes to propolis than other types of hives.

Propolis is glue bees collect from trees buds, sap flowers, resins and use it to seal the unwanted openings, resize the entrances, cover dead bodies of insects or mice in the hive, and inhibits fungal and bacterial growth.

So, log hives are capable of producing more propolis than other types of hives with only one simple trick. Log hives have wide openings at both ends and these openings are covered with anything which fits and doesn’t produce oduor such as worn saucepans, and iron sheets, some beekeepers make covers using banana fibres and blocks of soil.

So when you remove the cover and don’t take it back within a few days, the bees in just a few days will build a sheet of propolis to cover the entrance and leave few small holes as the entrances. Note: this trick is effective during rainy season.  Don’t try this during the dry season; the bees may abscond.
So if one wants more propolis, he/she should cut out the sheet and store it. The bees will build a new one until you remove it and install the cover back.

Mr. Lubowa a known beekeeper in Wampiti recently told me that he harvested 5kilograms of propolis from only 30hives in two rounds! He went ahead to say that bees seal the entrance faster during the busy days of bringing in nectar than days when they have no serious activity especially in drought.

When bees have brood and nectar (honey), they seal the entrance faster. The hive must be strong enough to build such a wide piece of propolis. I have witnessed weak hives falling to build a propolis sheet wide enough to cover the whole entrance. I have also ever seen a strong hive failing to close the entrance entirely with propolis! Therefore I can’t tell what exactly triggers the bees to build a big sheet to cover the entrance.

Beekeepers, Bees are hardworking creatures, please respect them!