Hi guys!
Just come across this thread and couldn't resist jumping in!
I've currently got two traditional - yamamitsuya to be precise - Japanese hives with bees in them, and a third waiting for a swarm.
I'm quite high up in the hills/mountains of Nagano (1000m altitiude) so this may not apply to everyone, but here's what I did.
1. left the hives (actual hives, don't see the point in the "waiting boxes:" if you know where you want to put your hives, put them there! and if you're trying to bring bees from somewhere where you're not and the bees are to somewhere you are and the bees aren't, well there's probably a reason...) outside for one year to season, i.e. get rid of the smell of sugi and dry out.
2. smeared a little honey inside (just what I had kicking around: happened to be the dregs in a bottle of organic hawaiian honey I was given as a souvenir...), no pheromones, no beeswax, and taped up the joints between the different layers (to keep light out - bees don't like light in their hive - and, apparently to stop the smell of honey attracting suzumebachi).
3. set them up in a suitable location. According to what I read, this was under a persimmon tree at the back of a south facing former tanbo at the top of my farm: in other words, under a deciduous tree (shade in summer, good sun exposure in winter), high up with a good view and unobstructed access.
4. set them up on concrete blocks - maybe 30cm off the ground.
5. lashed the hive down with some cord and some steel anchors.
6. covered the top with an old sheet of corrugated steel, holding it down with a big rock I picked up off the ground.
7. sat back and watched: within less than two weeks I had a swarm.
The book I have been using is this: 我が家にミツバチがやって来た―ゼロから始めるニホンミツバチ養蜂家への道
It's full of black and white photos and gives measurements for the author's preferred style of hive - the one I have, a traditional 重箱: four levels, 300mm x 300mm x 125mm each, 25mm wall thickness.
Some things that struck me as important:
- Keep your hives well away from tanbo and most fields: I deliberately chose my fields where they are to be away from pesticides, but only since getting bees did I realise how bad the situation is. A friend who had a hive just a kilometre away down the valley only ever had two or three bees and he found them dead with their tongues hanging out - apparently a sign of pesticide poisoning.
- Set the hives up high, with unobstructed access, under a deciduous tree. The two of my three hives that were successful are both in similar locations: set up high, under deciduous trees, facing south
- Tie them down! You don't want your hive falling over in the first strong wind! Or indeed toppling over when it's full and heavy!
Here's the URL for the box maker:
http://yamamitsuya.com/
Here are some photos:
The first hive when I set it out in late winter/early spring:
Same hive, same place just a week or two later:
Bees busy about two weeks ago:
Right now, both occupied hives are pretty full: both the four level hive in the photos above and the three level (sometimes it is recommended to not add all levels all at once, at the beginning, so that the bees do not have as far to go to the inside top to start constructing, although this was obviousloy not necessary as both swarms seem very healthy) hive not shown are full right down to entrance level so I will have to take off the top level, remove the honey and replace the empty box lower down to give the bees some more room very soon.
Will try to share some more soon.
Sorry about the links to Instagram but I can't seem to load photos directly into the text: can you help, Zasso Nouka?