# General beekeeping > Everything and anything >  Stewarton Hive

## Eric McArthur

Is anyone out there working with the Stewarton Hive? If so would they be interested in sharing their experience of the legendary quality of this hive to promote supersedure rather than swarming?

Eric McArthur

----------


## Adam

A quick search found a new one at a snip at £1800. :EEK!:

----------


## Eric McArthur

Hi Adam
This hive design is for beekeepers with ‘different’ needs.  I am not interested in buying one. Legend has it that the Stewarton Hive inhibits swarming – this belief I think is an ‘historical’ concept which has not been currently scientifically peer reviewed and become part of ‘beekeeping mythology’, 
Eric

----------


## fatshark

I'm assuming you've seen this PDF of a document by the Rev E. Bartrum on this hive ... _The Hive of the Busy Man_. I saw one once at the BBKA Convention. Intricate and beautifully built.

----------


## Adam

_"I am not interested in buying one"._ I'm not surprised at that price!  :Smile: 

I can't see that a particular hive can reduce swarming apart from the size of it as a congested hive will encourage swarming and a large one will tend to reduce it and I believe (can't remember where I've read it) will more likely result in supercedure later in the year rather than swarming. I don't disagree with that although I haven't done side by side comparisons myself to confirm in a statistically significant way. 

I do often have colonies in double brood boxes and a I do see (and like to see) supercedure.

I agree that there's a lot of 'mythology' in the beekeeping world. I pick up old beekeeping books now and again which can be a quite fun read as there's practices in them that we would now describe as decidedly odd, sometimes, but once it's written it becomes fact. How would you dispute an apparently authorotitavely written volume without the possibility of a challenge or peer review?

----------


## Eric McArthur

> I'm assuming you've seen this PDF of a document by the Rev E. Bartrum on this hive ... _The Hive of the Busy Man_. I saw one once at the BBKA Convention. Intricate and beautifully built.


Many thanks for that!  Your referenced  publication confirms the belief that the Stewarton does indeed inhibit swarming  and I quote, from page 39, 6th line from the top of the page: but in non Swarming  Stewartons these idlers                                                                                                         A further quote from page 26, 3rd, 4th and 5th lines from top of the page:  Mr Cheshire gave some account of the instinct which forbade swarming with an unfilled eke.                                                Cheshire was beekeeper of some significance at that time and is here, agreeing with the claim for the Stewarton.                                                                                                                                                     This book by the Rev., E. Bartrum is a fascinating read and gives a marvellous insight into the minds of the old time Greats.  Much obliged for your help here!

----------


## Eric McArthur

> _"I am not interested in buying one"._ I'm not surprised at that price! 
> 
> I can't see that a particular hive can reduce swarming apart from the size of it as a congested hive will encourage swarming and a large one will tend to reduce it and I believe (can't remember where I've read it) will more likely result in supercedure later in the year rather than swarming. I don't disagree with that although I haven't done side by side comparisons myself to confirm in a statistically significant way. 
> 
> I do often have colonies in double brood boxes and a I do see (and like to see) supercedure.
> 
> I agree that there's a lot of 'mythology' in the beekeeping world. I pick up old beekeeping books now and again which can be a quite fun read as there's practices in them that we would now describe as decidedly odd, sometimes, but once it's written it becomes fact. How would you dispute an apparently authorotitavely written volume without the possibility of a challenge or peer review?


Hence my original request!

----------


## Hugh T

> Is anyone out there working with the Stewarton Hive? If so would they be interested in sharing their experience of the legendary quality of this hive to promote supersedure rather than swarming?
> 
> Eric McArthur


Eric do you think it maybe in the manipulation of the hive through the season rather than the shape of the hive ?

----------


## Eric McArthur

Hi Hugh
Just returned to the thread!! The answer is 'no!  The seasonal management of the Stewarton has really nothing to do with its legendary 'Non Swaming' qualities. According to Bartram, who nicknamed the Stewarton,  'The Busy Man's Hive', in his excellent book;  little or no actual wok, handling the bees themselves was carried out.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   A thorough knowledge and understanding of the swarm phenomenon is necessary to solve the  mystery.   A study of the  behaviour  of prime swarms when 'captured' and hived by the beekeeper, highlights the frequent occurence of supesedure of the queens of such swarms.. The Stewarton, non swarming/supersedure legend is based on the original setting up of the Stewarton in the early summer using a number of prime swarms from skeps. The ability of one newly hived prime swarm to build rapidly is in itself legendary; consider three such swarms .  Hence the exeptional yields which the Stewarton was capable of producinmg.                                                                                                                                   What experience did you gain from working with your own personal Stewarton during last year?  Did you follow the original stocking procedure or did you work the hive with a single queen?  The March, 2020, issue of he 'Beekeeper Quarterly' has an essay on the Stewarton in it, if you are interested?

----------


## Eric McArthur

A twist in the tale of the mythology surrounding the 'Stewarton Non Swarming Hive' occured on 20 May 2002:   The legendary Stewarton Hive, managed as a normal 'hive' threw a swarm, in fact it quite literally 'disgraced' itself. Not only producing the swarm on the 20th, but also a cast on the 21st: On examination the colony exhibited 5 queen cells in various conditions; 2 with dead queens, 1 cell with the queen emerging and 2 cells from which the queens had already emerged.  The hive could not be examined properly, since the frames cannot be readily removed and the beekeeper expressed the opinion that further casts could emerge.  One swallow does not make a summer; but that the Stewarton threw a swarm is proof positive, that no matter what accomodation is offered to a honeybee colony it will ultimately respond to its natural instincts 'to go forth and multiply'.

..................................................  ..................................................  ....

I received the following abridged mail on the 21 st May 2020.

"Just to let you know that the bees in a Stewarton hive swarm just like a National.  So you were right. We had a  swarm in our apiary yesterday, 20th May,  which we lost, also a cast emerged today, 21st May..  When we opened the Stewarton we found  5 queen cells:  2 with dead queens 1 emerging and 2 emerged.  Since we cannot remove the frames hopefully that’s all there was; or we will have further cast swarms. ..........." 

As an aside I was astonished to note that this thread received some 1400 'hits' and nobody even ventured an opinion:  How sad!!

----------


## Hugh T

Hi Eric - I think there are no opinions because so few people are interested in the Stewarton which is sad because I believe it was very influential in the development of beekeeping and hives in the UK - it is unfortunate that I can find nothing written about the Stewarton until around the 1870s, 50 years after Kerr had perfected his hive and manipulations in 1819.  From the recent working of a Stewarton it has been shown that the bees in Stewartons do swarm.  Could something in the manipulations been carried out that would have prevented this swarming in this recent work?  Remember McNally of Glenluce in the 1870s had over 140 hives and less than 1% of his hives swarmed each year .(As an aside he was a Scottish beefarmer who made his living from honey and bees alone, well before Willie Smith did). Did the bees in the 19th Century in Stewarton swarm less than skep kept bees and thus be considered to be less swarmy?  Perhaps we will never get a definitive answer.  I can now see why the Stewarton progressed to moveable frames - making it easier to do hive inspections and find the queen- so we progress to the Renfrew Stewarton and the Stewarton hive that the Walkers of Kilmaurs worked with slides that stopped the queen entering the honey box - another family who made a living from beekeeping in the 19th Century.  It would have been good if Johnnie Walker who died around 1940 had written about the hive and its manipulations or passed it on to his family.  Perhaps there is something in the Moir Library - It is recorded somewhere that Dr Tennent a past SBA president and who was in charge of the Moir library was interested in the Stewarton and had made notes on the Stewarton.

----------


## Eric McArthur

Hi Hugh  
Comprehensive response!  However: "Perhaps we will never get a definitive answer". is a tad ingenuous, considering that your hive did indeed swarm!

Cheers
Eric

----------

