# German Styrofoam Hives



## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

They actually do have a small channel on the side near the top. I have seen some other videos of those hives and in one the beek closed off the channel temporary for something. Can't remember what for, but I thought that was kind of interesting. So it is there. These hives are so insulated that they have less of a temperature flux from day to night. Causing less moisture issues.


----------



## bsquad (Jan 18, 2011)

Interesting, in this picture there also appears to be a sbb on the hive, so maybe the channel plus the screen is enough.


----------



## JAMeine (Jan 31, 2012)

You can check out Bee Villa, they're Minnestoa retailer that sells styrofoam bee hives, they're up in Circle Pines.


----------



## bsquad (Jan 18, 2011)

Wow, thanks for the tip - never heard of these!


----------



## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

bsquad said:


> Wow, thanks for the tip - never heard of these!


Ever hear of BeeMax?? very similar. I run a dozen or so. after 3 years I am not real fond of them. Hive tools damage them, the break, and nothing really fits them well. Special covers, excluders and such. and so far I have not seen any upsides. They are lighter, but make me nervous moving them, I am afraid they will break, And yes I have broken them.


----------



## bsquad (Jan 18, 2011)

gmcharlie said:


> Ever hear of BeeMax??


I have now!  Yes, durability sounds like an issue.


----------



## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

Many of the European foam ones have a hard outer shell plastic. They are less likely to break with tools and are more UV resistant.


----------



## Rolande (Aug 23, 2010)

bsquad said:


> Yes, durability sounds like an issue.


In Europe there are various beefarmers who are running polystyrene hives by the thousand without any apparent problems re durability; might be interesting to know what the spec is on the beemax boxes, I believe that the main European brands (ie. Swienty and Paradise Honey) are made from EPS at around 100g/litre.

_edit:_ on the issue of hive tools, there's a Scottish bee farmer who runs a couple of thousand of these poly hives that has written on a British bee forum that in his experience the repeated use of the tool in seperating the boxes actually _hardens_ the polystyrene by means of compression, but not to the extent that the box is effectively misshapen in any way.


----------



## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

The BeeMax nucs are made from EPS, which is much stronger than their BeeMax hives, which are made from styrofoam. Allen Dick's site has some EPS boxes for sale. They are reasonable in price but the shipping is terribly expensive. I use the BeeMax nucs and they are excellent for wintering here in MA. Shipping on them is also bad, but I drove over and picked up 50. Cheaper than shipping particularly since they won't use anything but UPS to ship.


----------



## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

I watched the video its pretty amazing. The woman reminds me of a robot. She definately knows how to work those hives. Interesting video indeed.


----------



## bsquad (Jan 18, 2011)

Yeah, i was really impressed by her too. Never seen a plastic sheet used for an inner cover either.


----------

