if this is standard for the hive, a wrongly assembled hive or someone has introduced a non standard variation?
The Swienty is a mess and the lug recess is only one fault.
The original design was TBS: boxes had no runners and frame lugs sat on the ledge, as in Ian's photo. This set-up slows down frame management slightly because bees must be persuaded to move out of the way by jiggling the lugs as they're put back; if not, the result is plenty of squashed bees.
You'll notice that the base of the box has a 35mm rim. This is not an issue when TBS because the rim will have beespace below it, but when set up as BBS much of that rim sits on the top bars below, leading to squashing, glued boxes and irritated bees.
Look at the roof: as TBS there's beespace between top bar and roof. As BBS, the roof is glued to the top bars and bees are usually squashed when it's put back on.
The Swienty Ashforth feeder is further evidence that the system was TBS: no beespace on the base, so an 8mm rim must be added to prevent squashed bees.
Why these BBS anomalies? Swienty must have realised after a few years of TBS production that compatibility with the UK BBS system might generate greater sales and so they re-designed the box partially, converting the top of the box to BBS (by adding plastic runners) but not the bottom, and nor the feeder or the roof.
If that wasn't bodge enough, the new roof rim curved to meet the matching box top rim. This didn't work and Swienty withdrew it after a couple of seasons and re-introduced the previous square-cut roof.
The BMH video shows the thin box wall in the top bar rebate. Yes, bees chew through, but either glue in the runner or a strip of plastic to the end wall. Worse issue is that the lug rebates are too wide and frames often slop about and become propolised to the end wall.
Why do Swienty still produce such a compromised design? Presumably because they can't justify redesigning the mould
again to rectify issues which should have been field-trialled and resolved years ago.
Why do UK beekeepers buy it? Because they don't check or ask or know, but rely on blind faith in the manufacturer and believe they're saving money.
Which is better value? Transport costs are based on volume and flatpack is cheaper than a box of air, so a Swienty box seems the obvious choice at £21.72 from
CWynne Jones rather than an
Abelo at £25. The Swienty takes a short time to glue and bang together; both will need paint; £29 buys a painted Abelo ready to go.
When all is said and done the base difference of £3.28 is well worth paying because the Abelo is designed properly, designed to be entirely compatible with wood hives and so fit for the purpose of quicker and smoother field use.
This last point may not matter to a two-hive beekeeper (though it will to their bees) but running 50 or 500 poorly designed beehives will always be more expensive in long-term labour costs, not to mention the cursing.
