$279.00

Insulation really matters

Keeping warm in winter and cool in summer takes energy (honey) and honeybees (Heater bees) assigned to the task of maintaining the temperature. The better insulated the beehive, the less honey and less honeybees are required.  

Honeybees are the masters of climate control in their hives, and they need to be. Maintaining brood temperature at a substantial 93°-97°F (34°-36°C) is critical for honeybee colonies to rear brood and survive and flourish as a colony. 

Wild honeybees choose to live in the hollows of large trees and logs because they provide a large protective thermal mass, reducing the amount of energy required to maintain the hive’s climate.

In contrast, most domesticated colonies are housed in fabricated timber hives with a typical wall thickness of less than an inch offering very little insulation against the outside elements.

The insulation is further decreased when the timber becomes waterlogged during damp cold winters leading to the rapid consumption of honey stores, winter clustering, and susceptibility to diseases such as Nosema and Chalk brood. 

How do honeybee colonies stay warm in winter?

The honeybee colony’s ability to survive the winter depends on their food stores. Keeping warm takes energy in the form of honey. In winter, the bees cluster around the brood to keep warm. The more thermally efficient the hive, the less honey is consumed for generating heat energy, the bees are required to be heater bees – freeing up the hives resources for other important activities such as foraging, hive hygiene and brood raising.

What is the problem? 

For more than 170 years, the standard beehive has been a timber hive, a revolutionary invention by Lorenzo Langstroth in 1851. Since then, the form, function and material technology used are largely unchanged from Langstroth’s original designs. 

The Three Storey HiveIQ Beehive Kit includes all of the components required to create a three-storey beehive, except for frames and foundation. This kit is supplied flat packed (unassembled) and includes:

2 x 9 Frame Full Depth Beehive Body
1 x 9 Frame Medium Beehive Body

1 x 9 Frame Beehive Bottom  
       - 2 x NFC Tags
       - 1 x Stamped Floor Vent
       - 1 x Hive Entrance
       - 1 x Blanking Plate
1 x 9 Frame Beehive Top w/ Yellow Metal Top Cover
1 x 9 Frame Metal Queen Excluder
1 x Instruction Manual
1 x Varroa Board

KIT IS SUPPLIED FLAT PACKED (UNASSEMBLED)

SKU: SBC-2457-S
USA Hive Kit (Two Deeps, One Medium) $279.00

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