I think I have settled on the first hive design - Long Lang

For consideration I first looked inwards at myself. Decided that ease of care was #1 on the list. Honey will just be a by-product to me. I just want the added pollination... and to increase the symphony of life here at the new place.

I decided that I want to make ALL comb frames the same size from the start. So that I can pluck any frame from any hive and drop it into any place in any other hive. One of the hives missing a queen and does not have any brood to rear a new one???... just drop in a frame of fresh brood from another hive. Need more honey to eat?.... boom.

I just want a single main hive... and a few small support/backup hives on the side to start... but will most likely end up being all I will ever have.

When building my small support hives on the side, I will try and design in Sub-Divider notches so I can make them into even smaller nucs if needed by sliding in a divider. That way they can keep each other warmer during the cold Winter nights.

I also want to try and go "Treatment Free". Using a bottom screen with oil catch pan for beetles and mites below. I will have to get some good genetics off of the bat to try this method. I found "Gold Star honeybees" online. Their bees have the genetics for treatment free (heavily self-clean and clean the hive)... but they are expensive. However, I could save a lot of heartache down the road. OR cause more if they fly away the first day. lol

I will be using my nucs as swarm traps to catch local bees as well.

Anyways, I decided to go with a "Long Lang" hive. It is essentially a top bar hive that is squared off and has Langstroth frames inside it. I found free plans online that uses Deep Lang frames. Holds 31 of them too. So, it would be like three 10 deep frame boxes sitting on top of each other. Which means I will be able to keep the hive at around 15 to 20 deep frames.... then expand it rapidly sideways during the main honey flow. No need for supers.

Since I will be using Lang frames... I can find lang equip almost anywhere. I even found a guy 20mins from me that makes raw components (even comb frames) that still need assembly... that I can buy for almost nothing. I will probably buy frames from him so I can add screws instead of nails to the vertical pieces wood in the frames. That way they are WAY stronger and last much longer before falling apart.

The following website has plans for the Long Lang hive, more plans for a drawered/screened bottom, and several different styles of roofs depending on climates. I plan to modify the plans a bit.

I will be setting the legs up separately from the hive box so I can slide the hive directly into my truck bed someday to move it if needed. Just wait until sunset... plug the holes... then slide the old girl into the truck bed and drive away. I will also make the entrances, so they won't snag so bad.

The Long Lang w/deep frames...
https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/long-langstroth-plans.shtml

Gable roof plans for the Long Lang...
https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/gable-roof-hive-top-plans.shtml

Ventilated top plans for warm climates. Apparently, this is designed using the Layens horizontal plans... which reduces spaces for small hive beetles and such.
https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/ventilation-long-langstroth.shtml

Screened bottom plans. Should be done at the time of build...
https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/screened-bottom-plans.shtml

Very cool concept & well thought out   ...I like many of the design advantages and would totally recommend doing the screened bottom board and an insulated top cover, especially for northern climates.

My only concern would be possible "cross-draft" of queen phermones between the colonies (seeing as they are sharing a single shelter). I would imagine this could potentially create chaos  with worker bees upon their return to their respective colony and all.  I would give considerable attention to minimizing any air exchage between colonies in this regard. Painting patterns above each entry to provide a visual queue might help ....for exampe a white star at one entry, a white circle at another and a square at the third   .....just a thought.

Wishing you the best of success in your build, please keep us posted.

No worries about cross-draft. I am not planning on keeping any other colonies inside the main hive. That extra space will be for rapid expansion during major nectar flows. Essentially like adding a honey Super.

All of the entrances down the side are for moving the entrance towards the honey cells after the hive matures.

The queen tends to stay down at the original end in the laying cells… and the bees only make honey most of the time towards the other end. Especially during a major flow time.

My side hives will literally be on their own off to the side.

Thank you for the well wishes. I will make posts of my progress. Right now I am acquiring gear and swarm trap plans.

I found one plan that uses a single sheet of plywood to make 3 traps. The three traps will hold 5 deep lang frames and also have space under them for a ball of bees that just swarmed.

Re pheromones/crossdraft - this is actually quite a well understood phenomenon. If you put two colonies separated by a double screen, so the bees have an air gap and can't reach each other, they will share pheromones. At that point you can essentially run one colony with two queens, for twice as much egg laying.

Some beekeepers have even intentionally manipulated this to produce really powerful colonies for incredible honey production. It takes some careful work to pull off.

Once the shared pheromones have stabilised across the combined double colony the bees become tolerant of both queens and each other. This also happens naturally when queens are superceded. Frequently the older queen will continue to lay alongside her daughter for a number of months.

----

As for the hive design, having a single frame size definitely has it's advantages. However, my personal opinion is that insulation rating is the single most important factor for the bees. Thin wall wooden haves leave them exposed to environmental swings in temperature which they have to work hard to regulate. This impacts colony efficiency year round, not just in winter. Many of the horizontal designs I have seen have exactly the same flaws as traditional langstroth hives, when it comes to insulation. Some of them are worse, because they are more drafty and have large unoccupied internal spaces.

Personally all my hives are langstroth poly, and I love them.

That is really neat about the double pheromones thing. Just learned something new. Very cool! Thank you for sharing.

As far as the bees being able to keep warm I don’t think it will be an issue with this hive design in my area of 7B/8A.

The guy who designed it seemed to very much have warmth in mind as well.

Since horizontal hives do not have supers… that is a major advantage to warmth really. You can design the hives to be insanely heavy with insulation and it does not matter. I plant to put mine on a base that is the same height as the bed of my truck too… just in case I need to move t some day. Just slide it into the bed.

By design this hive will have 2” thick walls that are glued and screwed together. On top of the frames themselves there will be another layer of tight fitting boards. Then there is the roof. If I were to be in a cold climate I could build the one that is stuffed with wool. Also, for the void at the end you just reduce the hive back down to the proper size by removing frames… then install a follower board… and slide in a block of rigid insulation.

There is one major flaw to even deep Langstroth frames though. They are too small for the bees still in a few ways. Apparently the Layens hive frames are about perfect. They are about equally to 2 deep Langstroth frames.

When bees cluster during Winter for warmth… it is easier for them to move up than sideways on frames. Layens frames are so deep that the colony will literally have honey stored on each frame. In fact the layen will have a fully actualized circle of brood surrounded by pollen and honey stores… just like nature wants. Easier to guard the brood and take care of them that way.

On top of the frames themselves there will be another layer of tight fitting boards.

I advise caution with that. The moisture from winter condensation needs to be able to escape or it can will kill bees.

Mike Barkley wrote:

I advise caution with that. The moisture from winter condensation needs to be able to escape or it can will kill bees.

No worries! It is part of the design. I am not making it up on my own. In the free hive plans... It is in the "Ventilated Hive top with cover boards" section that was designed by the doctor for humid/warm areas. He essentially adapted the roof of the Layens hive design to the top of the Langstroth frames. There are two of the boards that have a screened hole in them... and the bees can regulate themselves.

The Langstroth frames are nothing but gaps between the frames... which is good when going verticle so the bees can go up into the supers. However, they are a detriment on a long-lang. Adding those boards on top will enable one to pop open the lid without them even knowing you are there... and go into the opposite end of the brood nest... to harvest the honey frames. You just pop off boards a little at a time as you move through inspecting. Sliding the frames down and placing boards back on top as you go so as to minimize stress on the bees.

For cold/wet areas of the country you would want to use his insulated roof plans.

I will also be using the screened bottom with trays... which will add even more ventilation. Which can be a problem in cold areas.. but not in mine if done right.

https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/ventilation-long-langstroth.shtml

I like the multiple board idea.

The person who runs the horizontal hive site also translated & published a great book. I think you would find it very interesting. https://permies.com/wiki/140839/Keeping-Bees-Smile-Fedor-Lazutin

Mike Barkley wrote:I like the multiple board idea.

The person who runs the horizontal hive site also translated & published a great book. I think you would find it very interesting. https://permies.com/wiki/140839/Keeping-Bees-Smile-Fedor-Lazutin

I have been debating on whether or not to buy that book actually. I keep hearing very good things about it.

I heard him talk about the boards vs burlap/insulation in one of his podcast interview videos. He said that small hive beetles will take out a hive much faster in a warm climate.... that burlap is a wonderful breeding ground/sanctuary for them. Which is why he recommends boards. Same for the bottom screen with trays in the bottom. The SHB and grubs will fall through and drown in oil (or you can use DE as well).

Having black rocks below where they fall through the screen tends to minimize the beetles because it interrupts their breeding cycle. The rocks are too warm for them.

There are also beetle traps like this.

Noted. Thank you Mike! I have never heard of that one before.

Hive Positioning...

I have been giving heavy thought as to where I will be putting my hives onto my property.

I decided that I want the entrance facing South (given) and for the bee hwy to be pointed towards my pasture so that anyone doing anything in the yard won't have to walk through their flight path. Aka kids at play, me mowing/gardening/working with the animals.

Also, I was planning on just sticking them into the loft of the barn but decided against that since they will be potentially swarming at times and my little ones... and animals... may be out there at the same time. We do intend to get animals within the year and will be out there all the time.

So... I am in need of help with the last bit. Sun vs Shade

I have two excellent potential spots under mature hardwood tree patches on the edges of my pastures. These two areas will be in almost Full Shade during the Summer but Full Sun during the Winter. Is that ideal??? I live in Chesapeake, VA. It is hot (but not super) and humid during the Summer... and cool and wet during the Winter. We saw temps hit 12F multiple times this year but it was a super cold year compared to most. So pretty mild ocean climate. Frost zone is border of 7B/8A.

It seems to me that being under deciduous trees would keep them warmer during the Winter so they don't have to use as much energy AND they can warm up easier to move the glob of bees around to new frames full of honey to eat for the cold spells. We even had temps hit 70F yesterday... which would have been good enough for them to forage around a bit... but it is due to snow a little tonight. lol

During the Summer they would not have troubles keeping their brood temps regulated due to being in full shade. Which would free up gobs of bees to perform house cleaning (I am thinking chasing pests around and grooming). Less energy spent on cooling is a much more efficient hive. Kind of like adding a turbo charger during nectar flow times.

OR... should I place the hives in a position so that they are in full-Sun year-round??? I have a lot of different spaces for that. Downside is that I will be mowing around the hives then.

The plans I am using the build the hives will give them 2" thick walls... which will drastically help for both cool and warm weather temperature regulation.

Thanks for any suggestions.

~ Marty

OR... should I place the hives in a position so that they are in full-Sun year-round???

This is a highly regional question. Here we have temps in the upper 90s for a couple months. This does not factor in the humidity that frequently sends the heat index 6 to 10 degrees hotter. The local beekeepers say mostly shade helps the hive beetles proliferation. So full shade is a no no here.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:

OR... should I place the hives in a position so that they are in full-Sun year-round???

This is a highly regional question. Here we have temps in the upper 90s for a couple months. This does not factor in the humidity that frequently sends the heat index 6 to 10 degrees hotter. The local beekeepers say mostly shade helps the hive beetles proliferation. So full shade is a no no here.

Thank you.

I wound up joining a local bee keepers guild on FB and asking the same question. I got about 10 replies with a 100% same answer for my area.

Sun/Full Sun with the hive entrances facing South East to warm them in the morning and shade in the afternoon.

Someone said that afternoon shade was good.... but since my hive design will be insulated... that full sun is the way to go.

They said SHB is the main contender here... and that wax moths don't like heat either.

I also had several folks say to install the hives onto a patch of black gravel or nursery fabric. Because the SHB grubs will need to pupate in the ground in order to mature... hand having a blazing hot surface for them to fall onto will be a major bonus.

Also, since my area is very windy year-round... they recommended wind protection from the North. So I am putting the hives out on the South side of the barn where nobody ever goes.

Apparently black bears are an issue here as well. I will put a fence around to keep both livestock and bears back.

You might want to make that an electric fence. I've seen what bears do to beehives. Total demolition. That was inside a barbed wire fence though.  

Mike Barkley wrote:You might want to make that an electric fence. I've seen what bears do to beehives. Total demolition. That was inside a barbed wire fence though.  

I thought about that as well. No I won’t need to I don’t think.

My entire property’s border is fenced in. In preparation for animals I will be getting that electric perimeter working again as well. I will be using the electric perimeter to connect rotational grazing fencing to.

So essentially the bees will have a solid hog panel fencing perimeter that is also electrified (going with higher than normal amperage as well). Then they will have HD cattle panel fencing around the bee yard that is 50” tall.

If the bear gets through all of that then it really needed to eat.

I will be relying on the 2” thick wood to help out at that point. Lol

Thank you! I agree with needing electric.

In the above video, the fence was not working at the time of the break-in.

I've seen folk using a strap like this wrapping the hive from top to bottom. This has been used to keep Langstroth hives from being toppled by high winds. Perhaps that would help keep the lid closed in case of an incursion? The above video looks like they only used the straps to keep the hive feet on the blocks. The good news is that the hive body itself, 2 inches thick, survived. But the lid was also easily removed by toppling the hive.

Ever watched a bear open a car roof as a tin can? I have. At a very respectful distance with the armed rangers between us and the spectacle. A wide escape route for the bear, free of spectators was evident.

And now... I have decided to go with the Layens system. I was on the fence and now changed my mind.

I placed an order for a Layens 6 frame swarm trap today actually. As well as lure, propolis, etc.

I really do like that you can let a swarm move in... then wait 3 or so weeks for them to fill out the frames with brood, honey, and pollen. I even saw one dude that waited about 2 months.

Then move them over to the new hive.

I sure do hope to catch a swarm this year.

Now I am trying to decide on building either the 14 or 20 frame Layens plans. I hear that the 14 frame will still yield up to 45lbs of honey per year. I hear that you can find plans online for up to 30 frame hives.

I am thinking I will just do a couple of 14 frame hives. If I have issues with them going "Honey Bound" I can build bigger hives after a few years. I spoke with a dude down in GA that uses them, and he said 14 works about perfect for him. Of course, I am in a different area of the country though.

I do plan to let mine swarm on their own too. Which will heavily knock back their population for periods... but also knock out varroa breeding cycles. If Small Hive Beetles (SHB) become a problem... I will stop letting them swarm in order for them to better fight the beetles.

I would like to eventually be able to get to that sweet sounding 2 openings of the hive every year (like Layens designed them for). That would enable me to have more hives... or save time for juggling other projects.

Here is what the swarm trap will look like. It is solid wood and about 40 liters in capacity.

Have you considered joining your local beekeepers association & getting on their swarm capture list? That might increase your odds.

Mike Barkley wrote:Have you considered joining your local beekeepers association & getting on their swarm capture list? That might increase your odds.

I sure did.

I attended the local “Bee Keeping 101” class several weeks ago and went ahead and joined their group. Apparently there are about 3 or 4 different guilds in my area.

They do have a waitlist for swarm catching. However, I have to have an empty hive on hand to be on the list. I will likely make two or three hives during the Summer… then put in a request to begin waiting.

While waiting… you better believe that I will be baiting my hives as they sit empty on their stands. Lol

I plan to have lots of clover this year along with the forest trees, and border of flowers and sunflowers around the garden. May bring in some scout bees from a hive somewhere. Preferably a wild one from the forest… but I would he ecstatic either way. Especially if the queen were already marked for me.  

A great article from Dr. Leo on how the Layens hive works...

https://www.beeculture.com/the-layens-hive/

I got the swarm trap in the mail.

This thing is built like a tank and much more massive than I thought it would be.

I will totally be able to use it as a large NUC hive (or two small) over Winter… or to carry bee-free honey frames back to the house without being attacked by robber bees or worry of nicking a frame and spilling honey everywhere.

I already tightened the wire in the frames and coated the entire insides of the box with propolis I got online. Since the inside was also coated with linseed oil and was sticky in a few places… I simmered some honey and lightly rubbed an Uber thin layer on top of the sticky parts of the inside. Just to make it smell better to them some.

Anyways, I am now waiting on some 100% bees wax foundation to arrive in the mail now… then I will put a starter strip on a few of the middle frames… then an entire sheet on the end frames. Planning on cutting out the corners so they can have better air flow in there.

Starting to have Red Maples and Cherry trees bloom in my area. Almost time to hang the trap!!! Excited…

My daughter is super interested in this project. I finally found her interest in the garden. She could care less about plants but is interested in all animal life. Even bees.

to carry bee-free honey frames back to the house

That seems like the hard way. That box looks very well built & rather heavy. I use a lightweight food grade bucket with a cloth covering to transport honey frames. The chances of robber bees finding it super quickly are slim. Even if they do find it quickly, it takes them a while to notify the others to bring in backup robbers. Exactly how long depends on how close they live.

You might want to consider giving the chickens access to the hives. They help by eating hive beetles that might be on the ground.

Starting to have Red Maples and Cherry trees bloom in my area. Almost time to hang the trap!!! Excited…  

I'm excited for you. Get it set up as soon as possible. Prime bee season is almost here!!!

Mike Barkley wrote:

That seems like the hard way. That box looks very well built & rather heavy. I use a lightweight food grade bucket with a cloth covering to transport honey frames. The chances of robber bees finding it super quickly are slim. Even if they do find it quickly, it takes them a while to notify the others to bring in backup robbers. Exactly how long depends on how close they live.

You might want to consider giving the chickens access to the hives. They help by eating hive beetles that might be on the ground.

I'm excited for you. Get it set up as soon as possible. Prime bee season is almost here!!!

I really like the bucket idea! I will try that then until it proves not useful. I am betting it will be perfect for carrying the honey laden frames.

I was going to put the layens swarm trap into either the wagon or UTV so I didn't have to carry it. I can do the same with several 5gal buckets and it will be much lighter.

Thank you!!!

Swarm Captured!!!

We are now officially keepers of bees….

They moved in on Earth Day (yesterday evening).

Excited!!!

Time to get that Layens hive build finished ASAP.

From what I understand… the trap has as much space as a 10 frame Langstroth Deep almost… and a wild swarm should have it filled with new comb, brood, and honey within 21 days. By then they may be trying to swarm again without enough room.

I aim to get them moved over asap… and hopefully still have the time to catch another swarm. Perhaps I should build another trap first since I can knock one out in a single day.

The picture is of them partially moved in yesterday. They fit in the box fully by the end.

~Marty

Very cool. Congratulations. Several other permies are trying to catch a swarm this year. As far as I know you got the first one. Good luck with your new venture. Winner winner chicken dinner!

Mike Barkley wrote:Very cool. Congratulations. Several other permies are trying to catch a swarm this year. As far as I know you got the first one. Good luck with your new venture. Winner winner chicken dinner!

Thanks!

I am probably one of the permies that is in a warmer climate is all.

I did manage to find/create a perfect spot for a trap though. Besides the large tree it is strapped to…  The trap is both at the corner edge of where two wood lines meet AND at the corner of two fence lines coming from the mirror 180deg direction. Surrounded by a field of dandelions (almost done now) and now the white clover is in full bloom.

Which brought in bees all day from every direction.

Congratulations, Marty!!!

Mike Barkley wrote:Very cool. Congratulations. Several other permies are trying to catch a swarm this year. As far as I know you got the first one. Good luck with your new venture. Winner winner chicken dinner!

Yup! I'm still looking, waiting, watching... Yesterday, as I was taking Charlie out for her 'morning constitutional', I heard some serious buzzing, around my peach & redbud trees (they're side by side - barely as far apart as they should be) and hopefully followed it, just to get a peek. Nope. Wasps. I should have known. Finding my first swarm right next to my house, and only a few yards from all my equipment, and about 30 yards from my planned hive location, would have been a miracle, lol.

Carla Burke wrote:Congratulations, Marty!!!

Yup! I'm still looking, waiting, watching... Yesterday, as I was taking Charlie out for her 'morning constitutional', I heard some serious buzzing, around my peach & redbud trees (they're side by side - barely as far apart as they should be) and hopefully followed it, just to get a peek. Nope. Wasps. I should have known. Finding my first swarm right next to my house, and only a few yards from all my equipment, and about 30 yards from my planned hive location, would have been a miracle, lol.

Thank you Carla!

Sounds like your climate is a solid two weeks to a month behind mine. Our redbud trees and my peach tree finished blooming a while ago.

I bet swarms will be flying well into May in your area. Our local swarms didn't seem to pick up until we started having those mid 70s to 80s days. It seemed to trigger them. The halted entirely during the cold spell we got right after that and temps went back down to a low of 30F I recorded in the yard. I had almost caught a swarm the day before that and got disappointed for about 3 days as bee traffic at the trap went from bonkers to zero. However, by the end of the next hot day, we went from zero traffic that morning to having a swarm move in.

They must have been clustered up on a tree somewhere that whole time.

I now wish I had another trap hanging right now! It will be weeks before I get them out of the current trap. I figure about 3 weeks will be enough time to fill all 6 of those Layens frames with comb, brood, and some honey. It is about the same as a 8 frame Langstroth deep box I think.

I went out to watch them yesterday... and there was so much activity... that they were clogging up that entire entrance at times and having a traffic jam. This is my first time getting to watch the action. Looks really cool. My kids are loving it as well.

Done with the morning coffee now. It is 6:42AM here... time to get out there and start building that bee-yard gravel base area. I want to use black pea gravel so it will get hot and Hopefully kill off some of the SH beetle larvae when they go to pupate. I will have a screened bottom as well for under the brood area of the hive.

You have a peach tree? You're in for a treat next year. Peach honey is amazing!

Hi, Marty! Yup! I'm in the Missouri Ozarks, right on the very wiggly 6a/b line. My peach blossoms just died off, this past week, and I'm gearing up for the annual battle with the squirrels! I'm determined that this will be the year we finally taste our peaches! But the redbud is HUGE, and still going strong.

How are you liking the Layens trap, for weight, manageability, etc? I bought my Layens (14bar) hive, in January, and a trap from them just isn't in the budget, for this year, so I'm going to try the heavy duty cardboard box trick, first. If I miss it, I'm not going to be a happy camper - but I'll be saving up for a proper trap, for next year, either way.

Mike Barkley wrote:You have a peach tree? You're in for a treat next year. Peach honey is amazing!

Yes and no. It is a little baby that I just put into the ground. So are the plums I just put in. I will look it up though! I didn't realize they made good honey.

I do plan to get just one more peach tree at some point. The one I just got is an "Indian Blood - Cling". I hear the Free stone version tastes much better but not as "no spray" as the one I got.

Carla Burke wrote:Hi, Marty! Yup! I'm in the Missouri Ozarks, right on the very wiggly 6a/b line. My peach blossoms just died off, this past week, and I'm gearing up for the annual battle with the squirrels! I'm determined that this will be the year we finally taste our peaches! But the redbud is HUGE, and still going strong.

How are you liking the Layens trap, for weight, manageability, etc? I bought my Layens (14bar) hive, in January, and a trap from them just isn't in the budget, for this year, so I'm going to try the heavy duty cardboard box trick, first. If I miss it, I'm not going to be a happy camper - but I'll be saving up for a proper trap, for next year, either way.

Luckily I don't have a large squirrel population here at the moment... and they have to travel a very long distance in hostile territory to get to my trees. lol

I always saw those things strip my fathers-in-law trees bare each season. They would just pluck them and drop them everywhere because they could. Waaay before they had any size to them.

I weighed my trap just before hanging. My HD version weighs a lofty 26.4 pounds. I backed the UTV up to the tree and set the back end on that block on the tree when hanging. It was at waist level. Held the other 1/2 of the weight with my left hand while the kids and I fiddled with the ratchet strap. They ran it around the tree for me.

In about 2 more days.... she is coming down and getting weighed again... then taken to the bee yard. So long as it stays below 45lbs it should be easy enough for me. The entrance is only about 6' off of the ground.

If weight is an issue... I would use thin/cheap plywood to make them in bulk for cheap. I just wanted something that would last when being used as a Nucleus hive in the future. After my main hives are filled... I aim to trap one last swarm (if I am that lucky)... then leave that swarm trap out in the yard. Letting is swarm to it's heart content until I need it. I would be adding insulation for Winter.

Very clever, Marty! And, good info - thank you! I'll have to be equally as clever, though. I'm 58, disabled, the kids are grown and all live in a couple different states, and (as yet) we're probably the only farmers in the USA without a truck or any kind of utv, lol. But, we do have a small tractor...

Carla Burke wrote:Very clever, Marty! And, good info - thank you! I'll have to be equally as clever, though. I'm 58, disabled, the kids are grown and all live in a couple different states, and (as yet) we're probably the only farmers in the USA without a truck or any kind of utv, lol. But, we do have a small tractor...

Thinking about it… I have seen folks set their actual hives up to catch swarms… and be very successful when doing so.

I also saw several pics of peoples swarm traps only 2 or 3 off of the ground.

Saw one old dude that set his on top of a brush pile… and caught a swarm. Lol

Thank you for your encouragement! I'm searching, hoping, getting ready, and waiting - and, for better or worse, I'll post whatever happens. For now, it's time to get outside and milk a goat!

The bee yard is now complete. Bringing over the trap this evening after they go to bed.

Main lumber is 4"x6"x8'L

I installed two ground anchors to hold them down. My area has high winds any day of the year plus an occasional hurricane..

Just South if the barn and oriented SE.

Two hedgerows of Elderberries East and West.

Forest to the South for more wind protection.

Pea gravel should get nice and hot in the Summer Sun…. Which should help with small hive beetle larvae… but I will be doing screened bottom as well.

EDIT:
After holding a conversation with someone... they stated that I should turn the concrete bricks over to the normal position for strength long term.

So I shall do that!

I will just add solid piece to the base and one to the top... and remove one of the hollows. That way it stays the same size and also has the same firm footing on the pea gravel. And it will keep larger critters from moving in.

Final Post to this thread:

I started a new thread for my journey... with the correct name of the hive style in the title this time.

Here....

https://permies.com/t/179108/Layens-hive-story