Working with Horizontal Layens Hives
Working with Horizontal Layens Hives Feral Hive in a Natural Tree Hollow Layens horizontal hives were designed to imitate how the feral bee colonies live in natural tree hollows. Layens horizontal hives with deep 16″ frames have been in continuous use since the 19th century, as they are easy to manage with minimal disturbances to […]
Vertical and Horizontal Beehives & Math of Overwintering. Honey Bee Clusters, Shapes & Frame Design
Vertical & Horizontal Beehives and Math for Overwintering. Cluster Shapes & Frame Designs The above video discusses the following: The shape of a bee cluster varies depending on the depth of the frame. In conventional Langstroth vertical hives, due to a relatively shallow (just 9″ deep individual frame) the bee cluster tends to take a […]
Natural Beekeeping vs. Organic Beekeeping vs. Treatment-free Beekeeping
Natural Beekeeping vs Organic Beekeeping vs Treatment-Free Beekeeping Natural Beekeeping IS NOT a carbon copy of how bees live in the wild. While nature can be randomly unforgiving (e.g. 75% of all feral swarms will not survive) , natural beekeepers can mitigate many risks and assure much better survival odds. Natural Beekeeping IS, in short, just […]
Starting ForestBeehive Apiary
Starting ForestBeehive Apiary. Transfer from a conventional nuc to a horizontal Layens hive. May, 2022. Setting up ForestBeehive natural beekeeping apiary in Central Maine on May 1st 2022. The original idea was to use only local wild survivor bees but with colder Spring season none of the swarm traps caught any swarms yet. Instead of using […]