My first direct experience with keeping Bees was in my first Bee class. We had class time then installed a nuc in a conventional hive. They froze to death their first winter. Realizing immediately, I didn't like conventional hives, I researched how to keep them alive during the winter and discovered Fyodor Lazutin's book, "Keeping Bees With A Smile" . In it, he shares the pattern for his Horizontal Hive. So, I started building them. They are 4" thick insulated hives. My Bees and I are in North Texas. We both survived Freezemageddon 2021. Many others' bees didn't survive.
Disclaimer: I took carpentry lessons to build these and there are gaps which the Bees happily fill with propolis. If I can build one of these, then others can, too.
