I live in central Kansas (Ellsworth) and have a Layens hive built from Dr. Sharashkin's plans. The summer temperatures can get extreme 100+. We have had temps of 104, 104, and 106 in one week earlier this summer and the bees tolerated it well, but we also had some days where the humidity was 76% and mid-90s, the bees bearded. initially, the hive was shaded by a maple tree and overgrown lilac bushes. At the request of my wife, I started cutting back the lilacs and the bees were exposed to the afternoon sun. I have a piece of stainless steel that I put on top of the lid to reflect the light and it works well. I think a Layens hive provides good housing for the colony. I had a swarm move in a couple of days after completion (Scouts were checking it out before completion), within three weeks 10 of the 14 frames were almost completely drawn and mostly filled with brood and honey. I have since made a new lid the accepts a Langstroth 10 frame deep box for more room and I can add shallow supers on that for honey supers. I think Layens is the way to go, but it does not lend itself well to commercial honey production.
