Apicarousel: the carousel management of honeybees

The first carousel, constructed from re-used material: an old trailer axle and hub with approximately 12 m of 5 cm water pipe. Brackets, bolts and welding were the greatest expense.

This is a new idea to help physically handicapped people to practise beekeeping, and has been developed by Wayne Kristensen in Denmark. Bee hives are placed on a carousel structure with a regular distance between each hive. The handicapped person either working from a wheelchair or standing, can service each hive from one position by rotating the carousel.

The first carousel (illustrated here) was constructed from reused material, an old trailer axle and hub, and water piping. A second, more sophisticated carousel has also been constructed and this model can be moved between crops as they come into flower.

Hives of bees kept on a movable carousel without doubt raise many questions! What about aggression, swarming, bee communication, pollination and honey? It is important that the size of the hives and their colour are the same. Management of the colonies is kept as simple as possible, with minimum of a open inspection. This is a recent innovation whose possibilities are still being determined by the inventors. A revolutionary idea perhaps?