I enjoyed this presentation, gave me lots of ideas on how to improve my hive designs. Thanks for the inspiration.

As a suburban sodbuster myself and a descendant of Nebraska farmers (outside Inavale), your story resonates deeply with me. Thank you for sharing!

I use the same ratchet straps, first I cut off the hooks then I sew the strap back to the ratchet. It makes them much easier to use not having to fumble with hooks especially when I strap the box to a tree someone does not want me putting screw into. I also took a stick of 3/4 electrical conduit and put a short piece of 2x6 on the top end by drilling a hole in the 2x6. It gives me something to set the box on while the straps are installed.

Newbie bee keeper here. Like week 1!😆Ive watched most of your videos. I’m so impressed with what you’re doing. You’re so honest and that can be tough sometimes. Please don’t stop , you are such a great mentor!! And you’re doing exactly what I want to be doing. Same way as Dr Leo. I’m Iway up here in Canada . British Columbia. Thank you thank you!!

Our 20 frame layen's hives are completely out of room and bursting at the seams with bees. We made a split in April from one and accidentally let another one swarm and they still ended up jam-packed. Any ideas on how to prevent this? Or know of an easy way to convert langstroth equipment to super a Layen's? My wife and I are not fantastic at wood-working.

hi, new to your channel. do you see any disadvantage of making a layens style hive but modified to accommodate langstroth frames? i'm only 5yrs into bees teaching me and layens makes sense. unfortunately it's all langstroth for me.

I've been loving your videos and I definitely subscribed! (from comparing Layens/Langtroths hives to how to build frames). You've helped me decide to go with a Layens and build it myself in my shop. Question: would you recommend a 20 frame hive or more frames if I have the space in my backyard? How many colonies do you keep in your 30 frame Taj Mahel at any given time? I'm debating going with a 30 frame hive as well to give me more flexibility in the future but I'm wondering if it's overkill. Hoping that you have some opinions based on your Taj Mahal hive experience. Maybe better to go with 2 hive boxes amounting to 30 frames instead? Thank you! And keep up the great work!

So true.. I've gotten into hobbies now I wouldn't have before with this mindset. May not have what i ideally want, but I can do a lot with what I have.

I started with Dadant frames, not sure if popular in US. I can't imagine trying to transport a hive like that without using a crane :D I would love to have horizontal hives due to ease of use but I transport my hives twice a year and can't imagine anything else that styrofoam vertical ones.

I didn’t treat my initial hive and it made it very strong through the winter. I currently have two hives going strong. Neither has been treated. I am planting and putting mint, oregano and thyme around my hives to repel mites. I will likely use a powered sugar dusting in both hives this fall.

Thanks that was interesting 👍 ive never seen this before 👋👍

Good luck to you sir 🙂

Wrap and cover my hives. Also add an electric heater at the back side to kick on when it gets really cold.

A lot of people reinforce the joints with wood and spend a bit more on wood to get better durability. Especially across the joints on the top.

Hallelujah! Its time some closed minded people woke up and took notice. There is a big difference between Thriving and Surviving. I started insulating my hives from the start. and lost count of the amount of abuse from so called Bee keepers. Telling me that I was doing it all wrong and it would end in disaster and "They will end up with Nosema" Usually recomending I keep them in standard British National hives. Which in my opinion are too small, the wrong shape, uninsulated torture boxes which people keep using because 'thats how its always been done'! Well I havent lost a colony since I started 5 years ago. just increased each year from 1 to 7 hives. So what am I doing wrong?! No species want to become extinct. Provide the habitat its taken millions of years to evolve to live in. (In this case a good solid insulated hive) and it doesnt need any more help, Or hinderance from us. My hives are either Layens or 14 x12 national frames. The It is a lot more work To build them but well worth the effort. Iin the autumn the supers are removed and replaced with insulated supers containing pillow cases stuffed with wood shavings covered by the insulated roof. Once a month I check and if the shavings are very damp. (sometimes they are sometimes not) I replace the damp area. I never disturb the Bees underneath, they have plenty of honey on the brood frames.I only ever take honey from the supers. Love the Videos Cheers

Very interesting 👍🥰 tremendous stuff, thanks from central Otago southern New Zealand 👋🥝

Hi an interesting Video on a controversial subject. Have you seen videos about using powdered sugar to encourage the bees to remove the mites as part of their grooming ? Icing sugar can work but it has drying agents added. If you grind sugar into a powder and cover the bees with it it helps get the mites off. You can simply pour the powder onto the top of the frames and get it to fall down between the gap between frames. Otherwise you can take out one frame at a tome and blow the powder over the bees on the fram and then put it back, doing all frames one by one. The sugar does not harm the bees, the mites the mites do not become resistant because it is not a chemical treatment. you do need to have a grill at the bottom of the hive for the mites to fall through and a sticky board underneath to trap the mites. The bees will eat the sugar so win win. there are videos out their showing this.Probably too much work for the commercial beekeper but not to much for the back yard keper. Another method is the use of heat. Taking advantage of the maximumum heat the varroa can stand is less than the bee can stand. The hive is heated and held at a maximum temperature for about an hour then brought back down to normal. Varroa die the bees will be put under some strain but they survive. Hope this helps

Do you find that hive color matters at all in respect to winter survival (for absorbing sun) and do you recommend treated ply for the exterior sheeting on the hive, or just paint untreated?

Do you find that hive color matters at all in respect to winter survival (for absorbing sun) and do you recommend treated ply for the exterior sheeting on the hive, or just paint untreated?

What a fine puzzle you have built there!

I usually blow on them with my own breath as I move the frame closer horizontally. Bees don’t like human breath and move lower on the frame allows me to close it completely.

You almost had me converted until you mentioned the extractor issue. Darn it, anyway! I’m four years into beekeeping and last year sunk about $1,200 into a Maxant motorized extractor. Sucks to be me because I would convert to Layens.

So styrofoam around and maybe heat tape around the hive it is! 😵‍💫

Wow, they've really closed that entrance down.

Lost queen, i guess that's a risk...?

good video, learned stuff, thanx.

Some very interesting comments.

With the third variant you can smash the bees that are inside between the the sides of the frames when they get closer and eventually touch each other. The second variant is the best IMO

COMMENT I like that there is versatility in the build of your hive. As it's built with interlocking boxes, it makes it easier to carry to its location as opposed to one big heavy box, which would take two people carry.

I recommend doing away with the wires in the frames. Instead put a dowel in the middle of the frame to support the weight of the top half of the comb the bees will build. Then an angled piece of wood in the top of the frame to guide the bees to build down the middle. the wax won't sag so much when it gets hot in summer like it does on the wires. Also when I go to harvest the honey, I can just cut the comb out of the frame- big cut comb! Then the bees will build all new fresh comb. A dowel in the middle is just all round better than wires, imo.

I see you wired a couple frames with a cross-wire pattern. Do you think this gives a benefit in Layens frames over the traditional inline method?

Is this better or worse than having a laying worker in terms of ability to save the hive through the correct interventions

It's sweet that they still tend to her anyway. i feel a little inspired now, since even some bees with a disability/dysfunction can still do something to progress in life, so that means i can too.

I caught one so far with LGO

Is this a 10 frame deep or 8 frame deep?

I entered the fascinating world of apiculture approximatley 5 years ago. As a registered nurse, I was well acquainted with the concept of resistance, as seen in the alarming situation of microbial resistance to antibiotics. As a gardener, the same situation can be seen in the development of resistance to control methods of a variety of plant pests and diseases. As I began to learn more about the life cycle of the Varoa mite, I logically concluded, "Are we, with our various interventions, creating stronger mites and weaker bees?" I posed this question to our state apiarist at a local bee association, where she had been invited to speak to the subject of mite control. You would have thought I just turned into one of those murder hornets from Asia at the response to my question! I simply wanted to know what, if anything, the state was doing to investigate this egregious situation, besides alternating the chemical agents over and over. I use very minimal interventions with my bees. As you stated in this video, I have suffered some significant losses, but I can say I see progress with my own bees. A hive I rather left to benign neglect last season was the strongest and healthiest I have ever seen! I hope more folks get on board with this 'less is more' (eventually) approach. I am running a horizontal hive, compatible with Langstroth frames, and also looking into the Layens set up as well, and follow Dr. Leo Sharashkin's informative articles and talks on the subject of natural bee keeping. I have subscribed to your channel and look forward to more from you.

I find my hives have much less hive beetles in layens hives than langstroth hives. Layens hives have much less nooks and crannies for hive beetles to hide in than langstroth hives. so bees can more easily chase the hive beetles out of a layens hive.

Thank you young man it was just wonderful information God bless you and yours and God bless the USA

Thanks!

maybe i missed it, but is there a queen excluder in the layens hive?

Interesting. I'm still new enough (5th summer) to maintain an open mind about what works. In the last two years, I've moved away from the ventilated method of wintering hives for more of a convection method. Those last two winters were the only times I've had hives survive a northern Illinois, and this may be the next step. That, and the fact that as I approach 70, my fondness for lifting boxes (and bending over to inspect lower boxes) has diminished. I'm relatively new to your work and find it both interesting and well produced. Thanks for your work.

Love your channel, Newbee here😅I live up in the Rockies. My question is…..i had bought a few Nucs (I know, I just couldn’t catch any swarms last year and am so impatient to catch swarms this year). Anyhow, my first Nuc I cut the langstroth frames and then screwed them into my layens frames. My second Nuc I built adapter frames and used those. My third Nuc I just placed the langstroth frames sideways using my layens frames as a holder, does that make sense? My question is….for this third Nuc how do I rotate out the langstroth frames out? And should I do this before winter?

We are switching from Langstroth to Layen horizontal hives. We have an abundance of brood frames. Can they be wired tied together - bottom to bottom (trimming and narrowing the top piece of wood now as the new bottom frame)? Will the bees build their brood comb continually from the top brood frame to the bottom brood frame? Is it possible to create a closed "top bar" effect by nailing a length of lath wood to the top piece of the newly created double brood frame?

Where are you located

Excellent overview. I have both styles. I much prefer the Layens for the insulation and overwintering issues here in the north where overnight temperatures do fall to -30F a few times most years.

Is it possible to use a horizontal hive, but with smaller frames?

I'm curious, did you keep the two colonies in there all season or did you eventually move them to separate hives? How did that go?

Lemongrass oil always works. It’s natural and cheap. Swarm commander is way too expensive. 15’ is way to high and unsafe. Even Dr Seeley recently suggested hanging traps at a safe height. I’ve used a safe 6’ height and caught swarms every year. Some are even using water barrels with success. When lifting a healthy swarm off the tree it can weight easily 50-60lbs after one week. Safely bringing the box down is critical while holding the box and walking backwards down the ladder. Catching swarms in a Layens swarm trap is very easy. Don’t let people make it too hard for you. You don’t need special equipment or sprays. I’ve helped 6 people this year catch swarms in Layens traps. They are all excited about getting good local bees without paying. Give it a try. You’ll never go back to paying for bees.

Terrific explainer. Well done, sir!

I have been wondering if Swarm Commander was worth it, and now I know. Thanks. Also, I am hoping you will return to your conversion hive. I want to build one but would like to know how well it works before committing. Thanks for all your videos, they really help us nu-bees. (no pun intended)