OBSERVATORY HIVES 
635 
A close view of comb built against the glass of the Miller observatory hive. This form of hive en¬ 
ables the observer to see the bees at work in the cells, the hatching of the egg, and the development of 
the larvae. 
from the others. Panes fifteen inches long 
by ten inches wide have been found to be 
a very satisfactory size. The uprights are 
fastened to two horizontal pieces extending 
across the base. These latter pieces each 
have a groove one-half inch above the 
floor. Into these grooves are slid two strips 
of glass to close the space at the bottom 
between each pair of panes. Between these 
strips and the raised sides of the base, 
strips of wire cloth are put and furnish the 
ventilating area. Galvanized wire cloth of 
fine mesh has proved preferable to ordinary 
painted wire cloth. The woodwork of the 
hive and the wire cloth is painted a dead 
black, both inside and out. This gives a 
sharp contrast with the combs, and is ad¬ 
vantageous when taking photographs. The 
outside of the hive may be finished in nat¬ 
ural wood, but the inside of uprights and 
under side of top should be dull black. 
The distance between the inner panes 
has been varied from half an inch to three 
inches. The former is too close and the 
latter unnecessarily wide. An inch to an 
inch and a quarter is best, and then no bee 
can completely escape observation. 
To stock this type of observatory hive 
is a little troublesome. The two panes of 
one side of the hive are removed and the 
hive is laid on its side in a box prepared for 
the purpose, the “tunnel” of the hive con¬ 
necting with an entrance in the side of the 
box. If this box arrangement is not used, 
trouble will be experienced by bees cluster¬ 
ing on the outside of the ventilators. A 
sheet of new comb has previously been 
given to a colony; and as soon as it has 
larvm one to three days old it is ready for 
use. It is cut vertically into strips just a 
little narrower than the space between the 
inner panes. These strips are then laid 
