Hello Winnipesaukee Beekeepers!
I'm an independent inventor of beekeeping hive equipment: hive stands, hive components, 'emergency-heat' hive shelters, bear-resistant wooden hive designs (which you may have seen in 2020-2021, in a row near 113, on the right when headed west, just before the transfer station). Also, I believe I've invented the most advanced beehive ever created, that is also bear-proof. I call this hive The Fortress Beehive. It would be equally well suited for use in Alaska, or Saudi Arabia.
I am a beekeeper in Center Sandwich. But now I have a German Shepherd that I don't want chasing bears, which he is known to do, so I can't test my hives on bears where I live.
I am seeking a country setting in the Lakes Region to test The Fortress Beehive against voracious bears' assaults - the more the better! You heard me correctly. Here is another first: I want bears to try over and over again to get into my veritable fortress of a beehive, a castle for a lucky bee colony.
When I lost my first colony of honeybees in December 2017, when the temperature dropped to -15 F, being an expert on Indoor Climate Control issues, I knew I could, therefore, set out to solve this dilemma of honeybee colonies dying due to cold beyond their ability to counter it with their sheer numbers and bio-heat generation.
So, in 6-1/2 years, I’ve done the unthinkable – I spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars to research the ways honeybees die in domestic apiaries, and what I – a beginning beekeeper – could do, then, actually did, about it.
I not only created the first heating system in a production model beehive – so my bees would never again freeze – I, arguably, accomplished more than anyone ever has with a honeybee beehive design.
"35 Attributes of The Fortress Beehive & "Firsts" in a Beehive"
- The first Indoor Climate Control system for a beehive.
- A solar/grid powered radiant thermal mass floor heating system, method and apparatus for a beehive.
- A passive-solar radiant heating system, method and apparatus.
- A passive cooling system, method and apparatus for a beehive.
- A solar-powered micro ventilation system for a beehive that can be C02, 02 and temperature controlled.
- An internal temperature, C02 and 02 monitoring system method and apparatus.
- A humidity control system for a beehive that can expedite honey production.
- 100% controllable/adjustable passive negative draft system for a beehive.
- A varroa destructor mite-killing system with a 3-hour maximum run time that is chemical free and, theoretically, nearly 100% effective.
- A small hive beetle-killing system that is, theoretically, nearly 100% effective.
- A built-in moat system that keeps insects out of the beehive and/or can be used as a fresh water source for the colony.
- A bear/weather/vandal-proof hive foundation that cannot be tipped over under most circumstances.
- A bear-proof hive enclosure that, theoretically, no bear species can breach.
- The first weather-resistant beehive.
- The first vandal and thief-resistant beehive.
- The first integral hive stand for a beehive.
- The first internal condensate removal system for a beehive.
- A combination liquid and solid feed system for a honeybee colony.
- Theoretically, the only beehive that can start the queen laying a month early, regardless of weather.
- A Murder Hornet-proof beehive.
- A rodent-proof beehive.
- A beehive designed to assist the colony with enhanced honey production.
- The most interoperable beehive control system ever created.
- The first “Research & Development Beehive for Institutional and Enterprise use for Beekeepers.”
- The first customizable beehive that can be made of myriad materials such as woods and metals with various plating options including zinc, anodization, powder-coat, paint even gold and silver!
- The first EMF/EMR protection system for a beehive.
- The first components created to bear-proof any Langstroth beehive.
- The first advanced Indoor Climate Controlled beehive system that utilizes Langstroth beehive frame boxes, whether 8-frame or ten-frame.
- The most featureful beehive in existence.
- The most functional beehive ever created.
- The most advanced honeybee hive ever created.
- The only beehive in the world that, by design, addresses the forces that kill honey bees and provides electro-mechanical solutions to these assaults against them.
- The only beehive in the world that requires keys to operate.
- The Most Beautiful Beehive Ever Created!
- The Most Expensive Beehive Ever Created.
Here's what would be an ideal opportunity if found:
- An area of plentiful forage and fresh water in a country setting.
- An area with a prolific bear population.
- A property owner who is interested in beekeeping equipment developments.
- A property owner who is a beekeeper, or wants to be a beekeeper, or wants someone to keep bees for them, on their property.
- A place where dogs won’t scare off bears, or be injured by them.
- A place where I can set up numerous video cameras to capture inevitable bear attacks on the Fortress Beehive.
- A place where I am accepted on the property at any time of day for the sole purpose of tending to my bee colony.
- An open-ended opportunity to continue to test my beehive(s) on the property for no less than four consecutive seasons (1 year).
- Someone who will allow me to plug my hive into a 120-volt power source – the power consumption, when heat is on, is 100 watts.
- Ideally, someone who wants to purchase my brand-new Fortress Beehive, or its predecessor (for a lesser price). Though, this is not necessary.
Please contact me with your interest, questions, or pre-qualifications.
John Rocheleau
444 Holderness Road
POB 183
Center Sandwich, NH 03227
603-573-1982