[HN Gopher] An Indoor Beehive in My Bedroom Wall
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An Indoor Beehive in My Bedroom Wall
Author : gscott
Score : 167 points
Date : 2025-06-28 16:55 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.keepingbackyardbees.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.keepingbackyardbees.com)
| comrade1234 wrote:
| Well, at least it's not hornets.
| MarcusE1W wrote:
| We 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 wrote:
| This 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 wrote:
| _I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for
| hours._
|
| -- Jerome K. Jerome
| banksybugg wrote:
| The saying goes: "your first jar of honey costs $1,000." Good
| luck in your first season!
| accrual wrote:
| > 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 wrote:
| My 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 wrote:
| It'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 wrote:
| This 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
| userbinator wrote:
| This gets a solid "nope" from me, and probably everyone else who
| has a memory of a very painful sting in their past.
| bigstrat2003 wrote:
| Yeah, 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 wrote:
| You might secretly be an elephant.
| johnisgood wrote:
| You 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 wrote:
| I'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 wrote:
| Honeybees 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 wrote:
| > 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 wrote:
| Australian 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 wrote:
| Africanized bees can be extremely aggressive.
| giantg2 wrote:
| I 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 wrote:
| I would classify a bee sting as more of an irritating pain,
| like a stubbed toe.
| jader201 wrote:
| You 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 wrote:
| One 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 wrote:
| When 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 wrote:
| Bees 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 wrote:
| One, yes. Many, no.
| snickerbockers wrote:
| Jesus, I clicked expecting a big post about carpenter bees and
| found something far, far worse.
| cryptonector wrote:
| I would love one of these in my bedroom. I adore the sounds of
| bees. It's very relaxing.
| Freak_NL wrote:
| I 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 wrote:
| And 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 wrote:
| As 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.
| gorfian_robot wrote:
| hmm. bee's can easily cause a lot of damage inside your walls.
| not sure how this is avoided.
| schwartzworld wrote:
| If the space is sealed, how would they get into the walls?
| hasbot wrote:
| Carpenter bees tunnel into wood.
| HelloMcFly wrote:
| An 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 wrote:
| Carpenter bees wouldn't be hanging out with honey bees.
| giantg2 wrote:
| Technically 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 wrote:
| Just makes me wonder what Erika Thompson's take on this project
| would be
| quantadev wrote:
| Made 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 wrote:
| I think there must be others. Butterflys? Fireflies? Ladybugs?
| quantadev wrote:
| I 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 wrote:
| Dragonflies are kinda cool too, and mantis.
| Terr_ wrote:
| While they are admittedly not insects, I feel jumping-spiders
| deserve an honorable mention.
| cryptonector wrote:
| Jumping spiders are adorable.
| AngryData wrote:
| I 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.
| quantadev wrote:
| wow. I didn't know it went back that far, but it makes sense
| mankind discovered hives are basically a free sugar factory
| that long ago!!
| Terr_ wrote:
| > the only insect that most people don't find disgusting
|
| That reminds me of a bit of fiction where a bioengineered
| commercial species is being critiqued:
|
| > Miles leaned forward again, to peer in revolted fascination.
| "It looks like a cross between a cockroach, a termite, and a...
| and a... and a pustule. [...] Nobody will want to eat food that
| comes out of something that looks like that. Hell, they won't
| want to eat anything it touches."
|
| > "People eat honey," argued Mark. "And that comes out of
| bugs."
|
| > "Honeybees are... sort of cute. They're furry, and they have
| those classy striped uniforms. And they're armed with their
| stings, just like little swords, which makes people respect
| them." [...]
|
| > Enrique said, in a bewildered tone, "So do you think if I put
| stings on my butter bugs, Barrayarans would like them better?"
|
| > "No!" said Miles and Mark together.
|
| > Enrique sat back, looking rather hurt.
|
| -- _A Civil Campaign_ by Lois McMaster Bujold Enrique sat back,
| looking rather hurt.
| giantg2 wrote:
| The 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 wrote:
| Wait, what? Inspected by whom? How often? Who requires this??
| ajdude wrote:
| In 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/
| 55555 wrote:
| My 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 wrote:
| There 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.
| femto wrote:
| > and not leave until you burn the affected hives
|
| I've got visions of bee inspectors standing there,
| insisting that this woman burn her house down.
| drewnoakes wrote:
| Where I live, AFB is a reportable infection, requiring
| burn and bury. Bees are considered livestock and subject
| to state regulations.
| cryptonector wrote:
| It's state control for the sake of control.
|
| Beekeepers have varroa under control. But the state loves
| to be able to declare medical emergencies for animals
| (cull all the chickens!!), including beehives.
| giantg2 wrote:
| The main reason for inspection laws is to control
| American Foul Brood. It's very destructive and since bees
| travel miles, it can spread similar to a public health
| outbreak. Africanized bees are only a concern in some
| area, but can be a threat to human life. The fact that
| Delaware wants to inspect for them does seem to be
| overreach as their range seems to be stalled much further
| west for unknown reasons. The inclusion of mite
| inspections seems like overreach as there are no
| therapies to completely eliminate them and they are
| already in every hive.
| wredcoll wrote:
| I am learning so many new things today.
| hinkley wrote:
| Which is sort of dumb because it turns out Africanized bees
| have better resistance to varroa mites. They've cross bred
| with the locals as they've come north and the majority of
| them have mellowed out considerably.
| cryptonector wrote:
| In Texas if you want to use bees for ag exemptions (property
| tax breaks), you need to show that you have active beehives,
| but no inspections take place. In other rather stupid states
| you have to have your hives inspected because oh-no-
| it's-varroa!
| giantg2 wrote:
| This is incorrect. TX has an aviary inspector whose purpose
| is to check for infectious diseases. As in most states,
| varroa is not considered a concern since it can't be fully
| eliminated.
| mtlynch wrote:
| Since others are sharing negative stories about state
| inspectors, thought I'd share a positive one.
|
| In MA, state bee inspections are optional, but you can
| request one for free once per year. As a new beekeeper, I
| found it helpful, as the inspectors were highly knowledgeable
| and friendly.
|
| I ended up deciding to stop keeping bees after two years. My
| colony died over the winter, so when I sold my equipment, it
| was helpful to have an official inspection report saying that
| my equipment was checked and had no signs of disease except
| for varroa.
| jader201 wrote:
| > _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 wrote:
| Video detailing a technique to grow bees in bottles (easy indoor
| installation)
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItlOFLTUAs by _Advoko MAKES_
| snickerbockers wrote:
| How 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 wrote:
| Honey 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.
| bbarnett wrote:
| Indeed! As zombo.com says, honey bees can do anything.
| Anything at all!
|
| https://zombo.com
| Filligree wrote:
| You're mixing them up with Zombee Inc. An excellent group
| of biochemists filled with nothing but the best inventions.
|
| Intentions. I meant intentions.
| astura wrote:
| Honey.
| cryptonector wrote:
| I learned some really interesting things from the author's
| replies in the comments at TFA.
| JimDabell wrote:
| I 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
|
| It seems to be based on this design:
|
| https://www.beeamond.com/
| paranoidrobot wrote:
| If 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
| maxglute wrote:
| Neat, 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.
| analog31 wrote:
| Obligatory Onion reference, one of my all time favorites:
|
| https://theonion.com/ant-farm-teaches-children-about-toil-de...
| pstuart wrote:
| Ouch. Thank you!
| Loughla wrote:
| Sim 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.
| maxglute wrote:
| I did some playground digging as well! Bailed after getting
| nasty pinky bite and realized housing an army of them in an
| elmer glue ant farm crafted by 10 year old me was bad idea.
| Lio wrote:
| > _Cursory research and bummed antfarms aren 't nearly as cool
| in real life._
|
| For the uninitiated, what is a "bummed antfarm"?
| evan_ wrote:
| Bummed meaning disappointed. They're disappointed that ant
| forms aren't nearly as cool etc.
| loa_in_ wrote:
| Could Stonehenge be a beekeeping prospect?
| nanna wrote:
| Explain?
| mhb wrote:
| A leaf cutter ant colony would also be nice. Not easy to get a
| queen into the US for hobbyist use though.
| y-curious wrote:
| I 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 wrote:
| It 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.
| chasil wrote:
| Philips Corporation had a concept for this a decade ago.
|
| https://newatlas.com/philips-beehive-concept/20412/
| pryelluw wrote:
| How do you keep them safe from other insects and pests? How does
| this affect pest control within the home?
| mark-r wrote:
| My 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 wrote:
| There 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 wrote:
| This 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 wrote:
| When 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
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