IN DEFENSE OF HONEY BEES
The Bee Fortress USA Mission Statement:
In defense of honey bees utilizing original equipment designs and beekeeping best practices.
The Fortress Beehive is the optimum defense to the seemingly endless attacks on honeybees!
It's seemingly the new "normal" that, worldwide, honeybees are dying at rates never seen with any other agricultural species.
The search term "mass sudden death of honeybees 2024" produces pages of examples of shocking stories of the death of honeybees.
So many factors are to blame, and the list of assaults on bees is long, and things appear to be worsening with time.
- Varroa Mites
- “Climate Change”
- Chemicals
- Cell Towers
- Monoculture
- Diminishing Forage
- Beekeeping Practices
- Manmade “Food”
- Sub-optimum Beekeeping Equipment
- Bears
- Weather
- Deliberate Attacks
- What Else?
Solutions: The Fortress Beehive and Varroa Destructor Mite-Killing System™
2024 Fortress Beehive
The Perfect Home for Honeybees!
The Fortress Beehive is electrically heated. The production model , "The Fortress Beehive", is available, now, in 2024. All Fortress components fit Langstroth 10-frame boxes: two deeps and two mediums and one Combination Box.
The "Varroa Destructor" is a stand-alone machine derived from Fortress Beehive features, but is much simpler at a lower cost. Without chemicals, we believe it is possible to kill as many mites or more, as acids and chemical/herbal treatments in a few hours, not 6 weeks! And this is what we endeavor to achieve in 2024.
Fortress Beehive Attributes
- The Fortress Beehive includes a moat that prevents crawling insects - ants, hive beetles in the larvae stage, etc. - from entering (leaving in the case of hive beetle larvae) the hive.
- The raised entrance/exit slot on the North and South sides of the Fortress Vestibule prevents mice and large hornets, as well as rain and snow from entering the hive.
- The slots opening length (percentage) can also be easily adjusted with 3/8" rope to decrease incoming cold air and transporting the hive/colony.
- The Fortress Beehive is held together with an ingenious locking design that prevents bears from exposing the frame boxes, and makes it difficult for thieves or vandals to disrupt the hive and colony.
- The 1/8" thick 304 stainless steel components make this beehive virtually impossible for a bear, or weather to disturb, tip over, take apart, move or dislodge the hive from its installation.
- The Fortress Beehive is heated (optional) and can maintain the life of any size colony throughout a temperature range during the forage and over-wintering seasons. Given this achievement - a first, we believe - adjusting the temperature in the hive means queens can be triggered to lay earlier in the spring, resulting in larger colonies than any standard hive can facilitate.
- The Fortress Heating System includes recycled "glass bead" as thermal mass so the Heating System Thermostat does not short-cycle, and the heating of the hive interior is done through radiance.
- Given the Fortress Hive is equipped with a heating system, inspection of the colony can be done safely in cold months and no chilled brood consequence will result.
- Given the Fortress Beehive is solar-power ventilated with a 5-watt multi-speed fan, installed above the frame boxes, "fanning" the nectar to reduce water content can be assisted so the colony can have greater honey production with less effort. When the sun is not 'out', the fan shuts off automatically, so the colony temperature is not cooled below 95-degrees.
- The Fortress Beehive is variably ventilated by convective force at an optimum rate that the beekeeper controls without a fan.
- The negative trickle of draft upwards through the hive stack means that humidity and CO2 is carried up and out of the hive through the Roof Upper Vent, and when humid stale air contacts the inside of the Fortress Roof, the moisture content condenses on the sloped Roof interior and flows downward and out of the Roof Lower Vent opening; never straight down back onto the colony below.
- The Fortress Beehive Side Shields are powder-coated black on one side, so in colder weather when the sun is out heat is conducted into the hive. In warmer months the Side Shields are reversed so the black side faces inward to prevent overheating of the colony inside.
- The Fortress includes 4 test ports, so temperature, CO2 and humidity can be monitored throughout the hive.
- The Fortress Beehive Control Panel includes a transparent water-tight door so the Digital Thermostat Display, and Mode Operation Status can be easily viewed.
- Mite-Killing in the Fortress Beehive is done by setting the Thermostat, turning the Timer Dial and flipping the Mode Switch - that's it!
- Heating Mode is easy: set the Thermostat and flip the Mode Switch to Heat; no Timer setting is used.
- (Optional) Fortress Beehive 10-frame boxes are made of hardwood - Sapele, Oak or Black Locust - for moisture content stability, grain structure and for beauty and longevity. Otherwise, new pine boxes are recommended for best fit results.
- The Fortress Beehive Standard Model includes 2 Deep 10-frame boxes; 2 Medium 10-frame boxes; 1 Combination Box. All boxes are in the stack at all times, but the colony's access to the boxes is controlled with the Upper Screen, so more or less boxes are actually in service at the discretion of the beekeeper. The Side Shields, Corner Guards and Side & Front-to-Back Lock Straps lengths are dimensioned to fit with the 5 boxes installed as shipped.
- The Fortress Beehive Combination Box is a versatile 3-in-1 component: Liquid/Solid Feeder; Ventilation Box; Hive Baffle (to reduce heat rising up through the hive).
- The Fortress Beehive Vestibule includes the Lower Screen made of perforated stainless steel.
- The Fortress Beehive Roof includes the Upper Screen made of perforated stainless steel. The Upper Screen can be placed anywhere in the hive stack to contain the colony exactly where the beekeeper wants it.
- The (optional) Fortress Beehive Queen Excluder is made of perforated stainless steel that can be placed anywhere in the hive stack.
- Paint/Powder-Coat options are available.
- Quantity discounts are applicable to all orders greater than one Fortress Beehive or Varroa Destructor Mite-Killing System™.
- Most Fortress individual components are offered individually for use with Langstroth beehives to make them more robust.
- Fortress 8-frame Beehives are also available by request.
- The Fortress Beehive is guaranteed to be bear-proof and free of manufacturing defects. Individual components are guaranteed to work as stated by the components manufacturer, for one year from date of purchase. No other warranties are given or implied and beekeeping results are the consequence of the beekeepers' techniques and frequency.
Call for quantity pricing: 800-598-5949
ISSUE 1: Varroa destructor mite
The #1 issue is Varroa Destructor mite infestation.
Mainstream mite treatments are losing their effectiveness.
Here’s the list of chemical treatments:
- Formic Acid
- Oxalic Acid
- Hop Beta Acids
- Amitraz
- Essential Oils (lemongrass, lavender, wintergreen, tea tree, mineral oil, etc.)
- Thymol
- Any other chemical treatments?
With all of these so-called remedies, the vast and ever-expanding varroa problem is becoming increasingly bad, and mites are becoming resistant to these once-standard treatments.
ISSUE 2: The Langstroth BeehivE
The Langstroth beehive falls short in the modern era.
Shortcomings of the Langstroth hive include: Poor ventilation. Complete lack of R-value. Ventilation and Humidity control. Complete lack of defense against ants, wax moths, hive beetles, bears rodents, and weather.
Bees need a better home, and they are telling us this when they create massive colonies inside floors, walls and ceilings of human homes!
It’s 2024, and we at Bee Fortress USA believe that times, techniques and technology have changed, and so should the homes we design and construct for honey bees.
It wasn’t until humans perfected their own homes that they were finally able to overcome so many dreaded diseases of their past. Electrification of human homes provided the comforts of central heating, air conditioning and ventilation. Modern homes are a dream come true for humans. And as it turns out, honey bees know that human homes are better than the hives humans make for them, yet we remove bees for our human homes and put them back in a hive design that they escaped from.
ISSUE 3: WEATHER
Weather is a Major Bee Killer.
The Fortress Beehive protects its colony against most weather conditions that Mother Nature can deliver! A Langstroth hive is practically defenseless against heat, cold, rain, snow and wind. These ineffective "hive wraps" and burlap are not up-to-date technologies for protecting bees.
In 2024 the Fortress Hive Jacket (R40 insulation) will become available for the Fortress and Langstroth beehives!
ISSUE 4: Electro Magnetic Radiation
The Fortress Beehive is Electro Magnetic Radiation-resistant, and we endeavor to make it EMR-proof.
Is Colony Collapse Disorder nothing more than errant dirty electrical frequencies, known as Electro-Magnetic Radiation?
Every beekeeper should read The Invisible Rainbow, by Arthur Firstenberg.
There are numerous studies that show how toxic EMR is to honey bees and all life, in general. And see this.
Many opine EMR frequencies are driving honey bees to abscond from their home. Is this Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD?
I have personally witnessed beehives full of honey, but no live or dead bees in the hive. They absconded and left pounds of honey behind.
Numerous studies show that 80% of insect populations have disappeared. Native bees and honeybees are also affected, and many believe this is due to the saturation of cell towers that now surround all living things.
Honest investigation needs to be done by the beekeeping industry, otherwise, there won’t be a honey industry!
Please, do your own research, as we research how to make the Fortress Beehive EMR-proof.
ISSUE 5: BEARS
No More Death by Bears!
The Fortress Beehive is absolutely bear-proof!
With one swipe of its mighty paw, a bear can disassemble a Langstroth beehive and disorient its colony. Of course, the queen can be killed during a bear attack.
Bears are beautiful creatures, as are honey bees, and they should be treated with equal respect.
This is why I developed the Fortress Beehive to be impenetrable by bears, so they just give up. Electric fences are not 100% effective at keeping bears from accessing an apiary, and they inflict pain on hungry bears.
Langstroth beehives are veritable bee buffets for bears.
No bear species, not even thousand-pound grizzly bears can get into a Fortress Beehive!
1/8″ corrosion-proof stainless-steel ensures that no bear can ever penetrate a Fortress Beehive!
ISSUE 6: Theft
The Langstroth hive is easily vandalized or stolen.
There are numerous products that allow a beekeeper to track down their missing beehive, but there is no product that prevents a hive from being stolen.
Our Fortress Beehive is the only thief-resistant beehive on the market!
Theft of Langstroth hives is quite easy, which is why they are on the rise.
The Fortress Beehive can’t be easily stolen. Yes, if there is a will there is a way. But there is no easy way to steal a Fortress Beehive, since it weighs nearly 500-pounds empty and is comprised of 100% stainless steel. The Fortress Beehive is locked with up to four hidden-shackle padlocks.
A locksmith can definitely pick locks, then tear down the hive, but he better be a beekeeper too, or accompany a beekeeper who is dressed for the occasion.
While “if there is the will, there is a way” is a true statement, the Fortress Beehive is the only production hive with security incorporated into the hive design, to deter would-be thieves and vandals.
From the blog
December 27, 2023
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Heating a Beehive
To Heat, or Not to Heat a Beehive?
The Fortress Beehive is Heated by Solar or Utility Power.
October 11, 2023
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