Ron is a wealth of natural beekeeping information and operates an organic garden and nursery. He's also the caretaker of The Bee Sanctuary in New York, and several prototype dodecahedron hives are housing many happy bees both there and at his nursery. Sometimes called "bee temples," these hives use the Pythagorean dodecahedron geometric form as a pattern for their design.

A long-time beekeeper, Ron kept his own hives and was in charge of caretaking other beehives as well. But one year, he lost all his bees. So in 1996 he decided to start researching beekeeping information on the perfect home where they could find optimal natural conditions and sanctuary. Even if he couldn't control the current use of pesticides and other toxins, he could at least provide them with a more ideal home.

The Bees are Thriving in the Dodecahedron Hives

Bees in this hive appear to be thriving quite well in spite of their polluted environment, including being able to huddle around their queen and move amidst a more natural geometric shape.

Video of Ron Breland and Dana Lee Cohen, beekeeper and honeybee filmmaker, with dodecahedron honeybee hives:

Using the Dodecahedron Hive for Harvesting Honey

As most beekeeping information on the dodecahedron hive explains, this hive was designed as a sanctuary for bees rather than to be used for human honey consumption. But some are experimenting with sharing the honey harvest with their bees. Our friend and beekeeper, Adamine, who provided the beekeeping information and photos below, started out with one of Ron's earlier versions of the dodecahedron hive, and had her carpenter refine it a bit. She experimented a little with harvesting honey with the bees still living in the hive, but found it a process she didn't want to continue, and now just leaves the colonies on their own unless the colony dies or leaves.

In that case, she explains, "What I do is take a long knife and cut the comb from the edges of the hive, one section at a time. I carefully lift each section out and put it into a big pot. Due to the shape of the brood chamber, sometimes I have to cut the section of comb in half to get it out. Once in the pot, I try to pick out any dead bees, etc.

Then I cut smaller pieces of the comb - about 6 to 8" square - removing any comb that does not have honey in it. Next I place the pieces with honey in a sieve that sits inside another container - a large bowl or flat Pyrex baking dish. With a sharp knife I uncap the comb and let the honey drain through the sieve. Once it's drained through that sieve, I then pour it through another, finer sieve that's set into a Pyrex measuring cup. Finally it is poured from there into a jar.

Ron discusses his honey harvesting here: "From time to time we collect honey. This is done either when a hive dies or more often, when it is harvested intentionally at the time we remove portions of older comb to provide opportunity for the bees to build new ones. This is important because at a particular stage in worker development they secrete wax naturally and we feel that comb building is a necessary part of the evolution of any hive."

Lining the Dodecahedron Hive:

Look closely at the photo above provided by Adamine, and you can see the openings for the bees in the top sections of this shot of some of her earlier versions of the dodecahedron hive.

Adamine staples a straw liner on the inside of the hive for insulation (she lives in a cold mountainous region). She obtained some great beekeeping information from Rudolph Steiner and learned that the silica in rye grass is beneficial to bees. "If you're able to get mat made from rye grass," she said, "the silica in the rye grass is beneficial to the bees as well."

Ron Breland is continuing the work on hive liners as well, "We have a big change this year," he said, "in that we are fabricating straw skep liners to fit inside the dodecahedron shell."

Beehive Construction: Wood and Natural Protection from the Elements:

As most beekeeping information explains, if you're going to do natural beekeeping, the hives need to be made of natural, untreated wood but protected from the elements if you don't have the type of wood such as Western red cedar, which is naturally self-protective. Adamine used hemlock planks which she had milled for the hives. She then experimented with using beeswax to protect the wood. In one experiment she used a hot air gun to melt the wax, including getting it into crevices for protection. In another attempt, she painted the hive with a mixture of beeswax and jajoba oil (jojoba "oil" is actually more of a wax that's liquid at room temperature). She said the painting was the easiest, but liked the effects of the beeswax and the hot air gun the best.

Dodecahedron Beehive Construction - Contacting Ron Breland

Ron's nursery and bee sanctuary are in New York, where he speaks on the subject regionally, mentors those interested in natural beekeeping information, and has occasionally given workshops. He describes the dodecahedron hive as a fluid work in progress, still in the refinement stage and one that's continually evolving without specific plans yet. Aspiring beekeepers often initially obtain dodecahedron hive and beekeeping information by attending one of Ron's workshops in person, or attending one of his speeches. Then they themselves continue to experiment with the idea on their own.

You can contact Ron at his nursery at: Bumps & Company, 323 Strawtown Road, West Nyack, NY 10994-1232. A quick online search may bring up an updated phone number.

You can contact Ron Breland via e-mail here. Put "Ron Breland" in the subject line to make sure it hits its target. Be sure your e-mail address is free of typos.

(The MEF Center does not share nor collect e-mail addresses from these forms. They are a way to connect you with our colleagues in a manner that cuts down on their spam).

More Natural Beekeeping Information from 2 of Our Affiliates:

The Garden Hive Construction Guide (Beekeeping information and the Warre hive)
&
The Barefoot Beekeeper
(Beekeeping information and the top-bar hive)